Sauce - Issue 45, 27-6-07

On the street every second Wednesday

Issue #45 27/06/07 - 10/07/07 Made in Tasmania

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S AT UR DAY 3 0 T H J U N E

Cruel Like That + Sojourn (Melb)

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S UND AY 1S T JULY

The Vasco Era + The Whiskey Go Go's & Red Rival

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The Casanovas

FRI DAY 13TH JU LY

H I L LTOP H O O D S

They Brought Hip-Hop To Symphony … But Why? HIP HOP

By Ryan Farrington

By now, given its impressive level of success, you all probably know about the most recent endeavour of Australia’s independent hip-hop illuminati, the Hilltop Hoods – The Hard Road: Restrung. You couldn’t turn your head without copping an eyeful of the buzz that surrounded it.

However, when I interviewed Pressure – AKA Dan Smith – some weeks ago, there was one thing I really wanted to know – why would Australia’s most successful independent hip-hop act decide to redo an already successful album with a symphony orchestra?

The Hard Road: Restrung has been described as “a remix album like no other.” It’s more of a re-arrangement than a re-recording of The Hard Road, isn’t it?

Yeah. Well, rather than a traditional hip-hop remix, which is generally just the old track slapped on a new beat and changed-up, we’ve sort of remade the entire songs. We’ve changed up verses and choruses, and the entire backing music is played by a symphony orchestra rather than samples, so it’s quite different.

How much were you willing to mess around with the sound of The Hard Road? How protective were you of it during the process?

Well we were quite protective of it, because we didn’t want it to … basically, for lack of a better word, be some fruity orchestral mash-up of classical and hip-hop. It’s not that at all. It’s not classics-meets-hip-hop, it’s hip-hop played by an orchestra, with classic hip-hop drums. We didn’t change the drums or bass-lines in tracks. We took out the samples, and got them re-played and re-arranged by the orchestra. I guess the colour or the vibe of the tracks hasn’t changed; all the moody tracks are still moody, and the light-hearted, party stuff is still in that nature. It’s just all been re-made.

So whereabouts did the idea come from?

It came from us working with ASO. We wanted something different for the ARIAs last year when we played, so we got a string quartet to play the track The Hard Road for us when we did it live. We really liked the arrangement of the guy who did it for us, who’s a local Adelaide lad now working out of Melbourne called Jamie Messenger. We really liked what he added to the track, so we got him as a bit of an experiment to do it with all the tracks on The Hard Road, and took the string quartet on tour with us over New Year’s Eve, to the two Falls Festival shows and the Southbound Festival … It went down really well, and it worked, so we decided to go back to

the drawing board and re-compose the scores for a thirty-two piece orchestra rather than just strings, and recorded it for the remix album.

What was the process that made the album? What happened first, last, and in-between? How did that all go, as far as structure?

Basically, once we’d heard a MIDI version of the thirty-twopiece score and approved it, we went to Grainger Studios in Adelaide on Hindley Street. We had to hire ourselves a conductor, and a portable sort of recording studio with engineers who were experienced in recording orchestras, because it really isn’t an easy job! [Laughs] We recorded the entire thing, and then basically had to break it down into a twenty-four track recording, cut it up, make it fit with the original tracks … We had to basically time-shift and pitch-shift all of the tracks and cut bits out that didn’t work, and basically edited the crap out of twenty-four tracks of orchestra, and then we had to mix it on top of that, and then master it. So it was a pretty lengthy process, and we didn’t really know how much was involved when we first did it! [Laughs] So yeah, it was pretty full-on.

What were the other challenges that were involved in producing the album?

Apart from the actual production side of it … that was the main bit. We had a bit of a time constraint as well. Mixing the album was the hardest bit. We assumed we could do it ourselves, basically, because we’ve always mixed our own hip-hop – but mixing an orchestra is a totally different ball game. So we had to take it over to Martin Street Studios in Melbourne and get an experienced engineer over there to mix it for us, who’d just worked on a few other orchestral recordings mixed with some rock music, actually. So he had a lot of experience in that field, so we went over and basically, for a week and a half, sat with him and mixed the entire album. That was probably the hardest part of it.

I understand that the launch concert in Adelaide will be the only live performance for the Hoods in South Australia for 2007.

Yeah, that’s right.

It almost killed us last year, doing all those shows. We were on the road literally nine months of the year Does that mean you guys won’t be doing many shows this year? Why not?

Well, we’re not doing many shows this year – we’ve only got, off the top of my head, about three other shows we’re doing in Australia for the entire year … which, being that we did seventy-six shows last year, is quite a contrast. The reason for that is, firstly, we’re trying to do a bit of stuff overseas at the moment, so we are going over there to do some shows. But mainly we’re trying to step away from touring this year, to basically get back in the lab and get creative – do some recording and some writing. So we want to focus our attention on putting out a new album for next year, so it’s going to require touring a lot less. I mean, it almost killed us last year, doing all those shows. We were on the road literally nine months of the year. And on top of that, you just can’t keep touring that frequently everywhere without people getting sick of you, having seen your show. So we want to go back, get into the studio, get some new product, refine it, and, for the next time we do a big tour across the country, it’s

something new – it’s not the same-old that everyone’s seen.

So how have rehearsals for the concert been going?

Has it changed the Hoods’ performance?

Yeah, it has, because it sort of has to. But it’s kind of funny; the way the orchestra works is they get their sheet music a week before, learn it – basically homework – rock up on the day and do it. We had to convince them to have a rehearsal with us. They weren’t going to originally, but we ended up organising a full day rehearsal on the Friday, the day before the show, so we could make sure that the show was working.

Because generally we rehearse really hard for two, three, even four weeks sometimes for big shows beforehand, so it’s all tight. So we’re a bit out of our element in that respect, in that we don’t have total control … we don’t know exactly how everything’s going to happen, but I guess that’s the nature of a collaboration – you’ve got to compromise a bit.

Involving the orchestra live would mainly impact Debris’ turf. How has he coped with the intrusion of his domain?

It’s cool. He’s got a bit of a bigger job, actually, because he’s got to lead in the conductor for all the tracks, basically by scratching in the drum breaks, and the conductor has to feed off his tempo, who in turn gives the tempo of the track to the orchestra. But it doesn’t work exactly that way for every track – not every track starts with a beat, so there’s a fair bit of interaction that’s going to be going on between the conductor and Debris. So he’s helping conduct the orchestra in some ways. That’ll be interesting! I’ll tell you how that works after the show! [Laughs] To listen to the entire interview, go to www.sauce.net. au The Hard Road: Restrung is out now.

PAGE 3

MUSIC NEWS PATTO THIS AIN’T A MIXTAPE OUT NOW

culminate in a worldwide launch beginning on July 16th.

profile on the Australian music market.

hosting not one, not two, but three EP launches in June and

BAD RELIGION SINGLE

Commenting on the new expansion, Ashley Sambrooks, the

MC Patto is getting ready to release his debut joint This

July – Red Rival on the 29th of June, Enola Fall on the 6th of

Bad Religion have released their KROQ hit Honest Goodbye

head of Show Off Recordings, said, “The area of PR and

Ain’t A Mixtape. Under the experienced guidance of Jase

July, and The Reactions on the 13th. Elsewhere in Hobart,

as a digital single on iTunes and all other digital music

especially the digital/creative side of PR, is an area that will

(of Beatheadz, Obese and Nubreed fame), Patto has been

The She Rats will be launching a new release at Trout on

providers. New Maps of Hell hits stores on July 7th. Make

show explosive growth over the next few years.”

in the lab for the past three years perfecting his craft.

the 29th of June.

sure you run out and pick it up. Don’t forget to see them on Show Off Recordings have put together two kinds of PR

This Ain’t A Mixtape is the prequel to Patto’s forthcoming

campaigns, one that is specially digital (blogging, EPK

debut album. It features cutting room floor material from

STRING OF ALBUM LAUNCHES IN HOBART

Fresh off the national Obese Block Party Tour, Melbourne

As we mentioned last issue, Hobart’s Curly’s Bar will be

this year’s Warped Tour.

GET YOUR FREE DEVILDRIVER MP3 Devildriver’s new album is on the horizon, and a track is

MCS’S NEW SINGLE

design, DMS marketing etc), and the second that combines

Patto’s developing years, remixes, collaborations, guest

now online. Not All Who Wander Are Lost comes from the

In mid-July, Motion City Soundtrack will release the first single

digital and traditional PR techniques (radio plugging, media

DJs on the cut, dusted off original beats and rhymes plus

band’s third album The Last Kind Words. You can download

Broken Heart, off their yet-to-be-released album Even If It

servicing etc).

brand new tracks produced by Jase to coincide with the

it now from www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/devildriver

Kills Me, which will hit stores September 15th. This is the first chance you’ll get to hear this MCS song in its entirety.

release of Patto’s upcoming vinyl-only EP. For more information or to download a SOS proposal head to, www.showoffrecordings.com

WANT TO CREATE STILL REMAINS’ NEW VIDEO?

CROOKED EYE FAM PRESENTS: THE ILLY MIXTAPE Since signing to Crooked Eye Fam (Owned by Phrase,

Fancy yourself a director? Here’s your chance to prove it

VOTE HIGHER!

to the world! Still Remains want you – that’s right, you – to

The Higher have been keeping extremely busy since their

MORE AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS TO BE HONOURED BY ARIA

J-Skub & Flagrant), ILLY has toured the country supporting

create a video for a brand new song from The Serpent. It’s

record On Fire dropped a couple months ago. They’ll be on

ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) is honoured

international acts like Snoop Dogg, and has been featured

all pretty straightforward – follow this link for directions:

tour this summer with Motion City Soundtrack.

to announce the final three iconic Australian music artists

on numerous Aussie compilations and mixtapes.

who will be inducted into the prestigious ARIA Hall Of Fame.

www.roadrunnerrecords.com.au/news/story.

BUSDRIVER VIDEO

This annual music industry event will take place on July 18th

ILLY is now finally dropping his first mixtape, hosted by

LA’s own underground hip-hop act Busdriver has hit the road

at the Plaza Ballroom at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre and will

Phrase and compiled by DJ Flagrant.

COREY TAYLOR TO SING FOR ANTHRAX?

with Brazilian band, CSS. You can check out the rest of the

be broadcast exclusively on Vh1 (available on channel 810

Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has confirmed

tour dates here. It’s a small stint, but he’ll be back on the road

on subscription television Foxtel, Optus and Austar) on July

This mixtape features an exclusive verse from Phrase as

that he has been working with Anthrax on material for their

soon. Off of Busdriver’s latest record, RoadKillOvercoat, see

22nd from 7.30PM.

well as featured guest production from J-Skub, Unknown,

upcoming studio album. Speaking to Germany’s Rock Hard

his newest video Sun Showers at epitaph.com.

aspx?newsitemID=16814

Lewis One and Obese Records producer Jase.

These new inductees reflect the rich tapestry of Australian

magazine, Taylor said of the possibility that he will become the new Anthrax singer, “It’s been banded about. I’m not

SAGE FRANCIS TOUR

music and have helped make it the force that it is in our

VENTS’ HARD TO KILL OUT LATE JULY

saying anything right now because all it’s been is just talked

Right now Sage Francis is headlining his very own tour – the

unique music culture. Drum roll please, for joining the already

Obese Records’ latest signing Vents is releasing Hard

about. Obviously, I’m really good friends with those guys.

Death Dance Tour. Sage is performing with a live backing

announced music legends HOODOO GURUS, MARCIA HINES

To Kill in late July. Hard To Kill has been predominantly

It kind of started as a joke. And then the more we talked

band with openers Buck 65, Alias, and Buddy Wakefield.

and FRANK IFIELD into the ARIA HALL OF FAME in 2007 are

produced by Trials of Funkoars fame.

about it, the more serious it got. I’m gonna at least help

Human The Death Dance is in stores now.

Radio Birdman, Brian Cadd And Jo Jo Zep And The Falcons.

IVENS’ SOUNDS TO EXPIRE TO COMING SOON

them out. It’s kind of a dream come true — Anthrax is one

SHOW OFF RECORDINGS EXPANDS WITH DIGITAL AND HILLTOP HOODS’ THE HARD ROAD: RESTRUNG GOES VINYL PHYSICAL PR CAMPAIGNS Not only did Hilltop Hoods’ recently released album The

Solo MC Ivens is about to release his first solo full-length

Show Off Recordings, a digital music label and marketer

Hard Road: Restrung debut at #8 on the ARIA Album Charts

renowned Obese producer Plutonic Lab, Ivens’ LP features

of independent music, has announced an expansion from

and #1 on the AIR Charts but it was also launched to a sold

guest appearances by Brass (Celsius), 13th Son, Fame

Columbia Records is proud to work once again with Prince

its already established digital distribution services. The

out audience at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. This

(Overproof), Nick Sweepah and Joel White from hardcore

on the release of Planet Earth -- the latest full-length studio

Melbourne-based label is currently launching their Show Off

re-recording has seen Hilltop Hoods re-compose the entire

band Hitlist, with all cuts by Oz DMC 2006 Champ DJ

collection from the multi-platinum Grammy-winning artist

Services (SOS). SOS are digital and physical PR campaigns

album to incorporate the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. A

Perplex.

-- available in Australia on Saturday, July 14th, which will

for artists/labels wanting to break into or further expand their

limited edition vinyl is now available.

of my favourite bands.”

PRINCE RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM

offering titled Sounds To Expire To. Teaming up with

BRI SBA NE H OT E L

FEATURE

“I Claim This Hotel In The Name Of Live Music!”

By Tom Wilson

Contents

As of the 30th of June, the Trout – almost an alternative music institution – will no longer be staging live music. In its place, however, will be a new player in the field of Hobart’s music venues – The Brisbane Hotel. We spoke with the powers that be to find out more.

3

Hip Hop

What would you like to have happening at this venue by the end of the year?

Great gigs most nights of the week – local, national and international music of all genres. Great quality meals from the kitchen, and a beautiful big beer garden for an outdoor bevvy or two.

4

News

6-14

Rock Salt

15

Gig Reviews

Sounds good? Then you’ll probably end up at the opening party on the 14th of July then, won’t you? Of course you will.

16-17

Gig Guide

18

CD Reviews

19-21

Bangers & Mash

27

Digital Music News

28

Spotlight / Film

30

Street Fashion

Both Ivan and Gibbo have been known identities from their time at Trout. How will the new band venue that you’re opening up differ from the operations of the Trout?

We have all been working at the Trout for some time now, and Gibbo was also running the bands for Saturday Arvo Sessions at Syrup.

It is our aim to continue with the underground atmosphere of the Trout, but to also be accessible to a broader spectrum of the community. Bigger venue equals bigger bands equals bigger variety. It’s bigger! We also have a kitchen that will be running pub grub and cheap dimmies! [Laughs] We’ve heard that, as of the 30th of June, the Trout will no longer be staging live music. To what extent is this accurate? And, if it is, why is this happening?

Everyone will just have to come in, have a drink and find out – there’s no point giving away all the news now. Stay posted with ears pricked.

Who’s going to be doing what? And what experience do you have in these roles?

Gibbo and Casey on bar with Ivan on sound – as you are all used to, but with more drinks and more sound, and more pool tables and food! We have all been working in various positions in the hospitality industry for many years now.

Why have you decided to go into this venture now?

Great timing – fantastic big venue up for sale, and the need for a room capable of all-ages licensed events and over-aged shows.

What changes have you made to this venue?

None as of yet – give us a chance. Filling it full of people, booze and music seems like a good start, though. The locals that currently drink there are a great mob, and we will be continuing their regular events as well as the original live music.

What capacity will it be?

Three hundred to four hundred heads in the gig room, and another four hundred in the public bar, and more room to grow. And twelve dozen ice creams in the fridge.

To what extent are you looking at it to be a venue which showcases a variety of styles of music, as opposed to sticking to more specific tastes?

We’ll book what we want to hear, and what are supporters want to hear. Our live music will sound live and be a different size, shape and style every night.

We’re totally open for anything. If a guy riding a pony comes PAGE 4

into the pub in a peanut butter suit and a guitar slung over his shoulder asking for a gig ... we’ll put him on!

You will be having an opening party on the 14th of July.

What do you have planned? Who will be playing?

Massive party, maties! The Roobs, Charles Du Cane, The Bad Luck Charms, The No No’s and Lucy will be playing out the back, and DJ BTC and DJ Svengali will be playing in the public bar. It’s going to be a huge night with some of Tassie’s top talent!

Phone: Advertising: Editorial:

03 6331 0701 advertising@sauce.net.au editorial@sauce.net.au

Editor David Williams

david@sauce.net.au

Graphic Design Simon Hancock

shancock@sauce.net.au

Sub Editor Tom Wilson

twilson@sauce.net.au

Contributors: Adam Ferguson, Shannon Stevens, Emma Dilemma, Nicky Wilson, Chris Rattray, Ryan Cooke, Ryan Farrington, Ian Murtagh, Felix Blackler, Zadoc, Patrick Duke, Nicole Calabria, Steve Tausche, Dave Hernyk, James Carnegie, Clara Murray.

Deadlines Sauce #46, 11th - 24th July DEADLINE: 6th Jule

Opinions expressed in Sauce are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

ENO L A FA LL

ROCK SALT

I Made A New Friend

By Tom Wilson I’d like to introduce a man named Joe. Linchpin of Hobart’s Enola Fall, he and the band are about to launch their brand new EP at Curly’s Bar on the 6th of July. With Enola Fall touted by Triple J’s Robbie Buck as possibly Australia’s next big thing, we are not the only ones eagerly awaiting this release. Joe gave us a taste of what we can expect from Made A New Friend.

You’re launching your new EP early next month.

How long have you been working on this?

Well, the EP … it’s sort of like a boiled-down best-of.

There’s a couple of songs from the last album we released, and about three new tracks. And it’s all been re-mastered at Red Planet, and chopped-up and given a new lease on life. It’s just a five-track EP with the best stuff that we’ve been doing over the last three years, really.

The day before, you’re appearing at Aroma Records. Is this going to be a preview of the new EP? Yeah … Mostly it would just be a stripped-back acoustic performance – probably just a couple of us, or three of us, playing stuff from the EP. I probably have copies of the EP there as well … I’ll see if anyone wants an advance copy of it.

What do you think sets I Made A New Friend apart from your previous release … aside from the fact that the title is awesome?

[Laughs] Yeah! It’s very much, I think, a more … aggressive … We went through a phase a couple of years ago where we determinably did not play anything people could dance to; deliberately trying to be as obtuse as possible. But really,

just recording this stuff – there’s quite a lot of beats going on, and quite a bass-heavy sort of sound on a couple of the tracks, and the other ones are very acoustic … It’s not one sound – it’s probably five different sounds for five different songs, really.

To me, the title track has a very melancholy feel. What inspired it?

Well I went to England last year for six months, because the previous CD we released got released on Cargo Records in the UK …

[I have to interrupt him as someone keeps calling the office phone] My boss was coming valiantly to my rescue by telling me how I can get in contact with you. Little does he know I’ve done it already. God I’m talented … and also completely full of shit!

Fantastic! [Laughs] You were saying you were in Britain?

Yeah … the last CD got released in England on Cargo Records, and I went over there to try and capitalise on that, and put a band together … It took me about three months to figure out that I couldn’t remotely afford to live there …

just the density of other bands trying to get somewhere just made it completely untenable. So I came back here, and I put together a new Enola Fall, which has got a couple of new members and one guy who used to be in the band. There’s Linc Le Fever from Fell To Erin in there, and Stan Barnes from The Keds Of Ray Brower. So the whole thing of I Made A New Friend … I don’t know – it’s melancholy, but it’s kind of optimistic at the same time. It’s just about making friends with people and trying to get something different happening!

[Laughs]

Well … It’s all about lining them up. Little bits of recognition here and there are nice, but none of it really adds up to much in the end unless you can just keep it going. I suppose it would be nice to kind of expand, and actually have the money and the power to tour and to play the bigger festivals and stuff. That’s what I’m really hoping for. In the end, what it comes down to is hand-shaking, really – you try to handshake as many people as you can in the industry and stuff.

I’m beginning to learn how to do it. I’m not a very good manager, but I’m learning! [Laughs]

Speaking of making new friends … Oh, what a segue!

[Laughs] Spectacular work there!

Well he said, “Enola Fall are one of the top ten unsigned bands to watch out for this year”. Which is quite a pleasing thing for him to say!

Thank you! I heard you recently got a great big plug from Sir Robbie Buck of the Three Js. What did he say?

Well he said, “Enola Fall are one of the top ten unsigned bands to watch out for this year”. Which is quite a pleasing thing for him to say!

How much did you pay him?

Oh … sexual favours, mostly.

What do you think getting this kind of recognition will mean for Enola Fall?

So who was the last friend you made? And who was the best one?

The “best friend” … Jesus, I don’t know! The last friend I made, in terms of new friends, is probably a guy called Adam, who’s a really, really fantastic guy, and I’m hopefully going to be touring with him later this year in the UK and Germany. I don’t know about the “best friend” …

Joe! What are you talking about! I’m your best friend!

Oh, well of course! Apart from you! I thought that was a given!

Now, when I get lazy, I just go through a bio and I rip out an intriguing sentence and I ask you what it means – even though most bands write it themselves! It was once written that you “compel band members and audiences to witness your destruction and re-birth”.

What do you think this means?

Um … That was written by my manager, and he basically got that from witnessing a show, I think late last year, which was … I think the way he put it was “incredibly cathartic”.

Rather than going out in the evening and having a few drinks and having a good time … with the better shows of ours, it seems to be a bit more … a really wrenching experience.

When it’s a good show, hopefully there’s a really cathartic, destructive [vibe] … and then, at the end of it, you kind of feel almost purged. Which is what I’m hoping for. When it doesn’t work, of course, it just comes off as circle-jerking!

Which is fun too!

Well, there’s nothing wrong with that!

ONLINE: Joe talks about being brought back to life by affecting people negatively, and I call him a sick bastard. Ace! To listen to the full version of this, the greatest interview of all time, head to www.sauce. net.au Enola Fall will be making new friends when they play instore at Hobart’s Aroma Records on the 5th of July, and launch their EP at Curly’s Bar on the 6th.

CRUEL L I K E TH AT

Still Playing Hard ROCK SALT

By David Williams

Having released their debut EP in March, Cruel Like That have been bringing it to live audiences around Tasmania for the past two months. They spoke to me about playing MS Fest and their plans for the near future.

You released your debut EP in March. What feedback have you got so far? How have people reacted?

We’ve had amazing feedback from all over the place – people have been really enthusiastic about our gigs and keen to buy the EP – it’s just awesome to see so many people wanting to support us.

You’re gigging fairly rapidly at the moment – what have the shows been like so far?

All of the shows have been great, not only for the punters or the venues but for us as a band. Gigging fairly rapidly makes us tighter as a band.

Every chance to play is awesome, whether it’s to four or four-thousand people.

What material do you focus on in the set? Do you have unreleased material, or are you just presenting the EP live?

It depends a lot on the venue and the crowd – if the crowd is a little quiet, we like to hit ‘em hard straight up – get them fired-up. If they are really fired up, we’ll throw in a slow one or two, so we can kick it up again later in the set. We have only released five songs at this stage and we have a heap of material as well; [we have] new ones that we are writing and putting in the set all the time. So you can expect anything on any night.

You played MS Fest – what did this experience mean to you as a band? Are you more confident now?

It was a great chance to promote our latest release to a big crowd, and we definitely gained a lot of experience on how to perform and deliver on a big stage. It was also a great leadup to our Tassie tour – it was a great step for us as a band.

How did you act around names like Silverchair and Spiderbait? What was it like seeing them work?

It was just great experience for us to see how the high profile PAGE 6

bands strut their stuff. At the start of the day it was a pretty surreal feeling, being on the same stage as some of the biggest acts in the country. By the end of the day it had just become a great experience. It was just great to hang out with all the other bands and see how they do what they do and get to know them a little.

Every chance to play is awesome, whether it’s to four or four-thousand people.

What three albums best sum up the influences that have combined to form Cruel Like That?

Live – Throwing Copper, Goo Goo Dolls – Dizzy Up The Girl, Foo Fighters – Colour and the Shape.

Where in Tasmania have you enjoyed playing the most?

How have the crowd reactions differed between places like Hobart and Launceston?

We don’t really have a favorite gig – they’re all good. I would have to say that the EP launch we did in Delrock was just amazing – massive crowd, massive production – just massive.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?

Writing new songs, recording and releasing the new EP nationally, gig, gig, gig.

Cruel Like That play Spurs in Devonport on the 1st, 8th and 15th of June, and Launceston’s James Hotel on the 16th.

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upmarket ... uptown ... Upper Burnie

254 Mount St Upper Burnie 7320 Give us $5 for live music unless otherwise stated

THURSDAY JUNE 28

Jazz Club '07

Viktor Zappner Swingtet Featuring Doug Sheehan, from Devonport, on trumpet and vocals.

8:00PM

FRIDAY JUNE 29

Rosie Burgess Folk singer from Melbourne via Sydney, with Marcus Wynwood.

8:00PM

SATURDAY JUNE 30

Lynch

SUPPORTED BY ROGUEISH FOLK HERO (MELBOURNE) & LOCAL ARTISTS FRIDAY 29 JUNE $5 ON THE DOOR FROM 8PM

7:30PM

SUNDAY JULY 1

Stage Door the Cafe turns 2

FRIDAY 6 JULY

With Segway @ 2 and the Adrian Cunningham Jazztet @ 5:00pm. $15 covers the two gigs

WEDNESDAY JULY 4

Jazz Club 07

CD LAUNCH

Gideon Brazil From Melbourne.$10.

7:30PM

Supported By Beatrix Bae Bouwman Jamin & Amy Kendall

THURSDAY JULY 5

$5 ON THE DOOR FROM 8PM

Jazz Club '07

Viktor Zappner Swingtet With Alex Howroyd, from Hobart, on tenor sax.

7:30PM

FRIDAY JULY 6

Mikaela Campbell & Kendal McCreadie 7:30PM

SATURDAY JULY 7

Ulverstone Repertory Theatre Society presents Dimboola. $40 dinner & show

SUNDAY JULY 8

Shindig 14 Featuring King Konga & friends. Harry Springford -Williams, on congas, from Melbourne via Burnie, 5:00PM

TUESDAY JULY 10

Blues Point Jazz Singers $20 ($15 Arts Council/Jazz Action Society members) 8:00PM

Republic Bar & Cafe

299 Elizabeth St North Hobart Ph. 6234 6954 www.republicbar.com

JUNE

FRIDAY 6TH JULY

The Casanovas

+ The Evening Dolls

Wed

27th

Thu

28th

Fri

29th

Sat

30th

Sun

1st

Mon

2nd

JULY $12 DOOR - 10PM

SATURDAY 7TH JULY

Cosmic Psychos & Celibate Rifles $15 PRESALE - 9PM + THE ROOBS $20 PRESALE/ /$18 $25DOOR DOOR - 9.30PM

Tue

3rd

Wed

4th

Thu

5th

Fri

6th

Sat

7th

Sun

8th

Mon

9th

Tues

10th

Man Bites God 9pm Kobya (Reggae Funk) $5/$3 9pm Vasco Era Support Whiskey Go Goâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s + Sojourn $16 Pre/ $18 Door 10pm Vasco Era Support Whiskey Go Goâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s + The Reactions $16 Pre/ $18 Door 10pm Bridget Pross 8:30pm G. B. Balding 8:30pm Joma Byron + Rosie Burgess 9:00pm Joe Piere + Greg Frith (Sax) 9:00pm Eshak (Africa) $5 / $3conc 9:00pm The Casanovas Supp. The Evening Dolls $12 10:00pm Cosmic Psychos + Celibate Rifles + The Roobs $20Pre/$25Door 9:30pm Mick Hart $10 9:00pm Quiz Night 8:15pm Dave Calandra 9:00pm

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F O REI GN FI LM S

ROCK SALT

Rock Without The Subtitles

By Tom Wilson Not all of us like films from non-english speaking contries, but – in an age where every second American movie is a sub-par remake of one, it’s clear that they’re a great source of true originality and creativity. And you know what? From all reports, this Tassie experimental rock troupe should be held in the same regard. So I decided to check it out for myself and spoke with Mark Edmunds, Able Fry and Matthew Contrell.

First of all, what is the story behind the band’s name?

Mark was driving one day listening to the radio, and they were discussing foreign films. The statement really captivated his imagination!

Why did you choose it?

Individually we are all interested in the creative “art” side of life – Foreign Films being the experimentation with the unfamiliar; be that art, film, dress etc.

Sounds cool!

What material do you have at the moment?

All our music is original – we have enough songs to fill a church!

Jesus Christ! … Oh … sorry. What plans do you have to record?

We are hoping to have something on the go by the end of this year.

You’ve got two shows coming up in July, both in Launceston. What experience have you had playing elsewhere in Tasmania?

We played this past Monday in Hobart at the Republic; we enjoyed playing to a new crowd. We are open to play anywhere they’ll have us!

How did the band come together? When did it start?

Originally it all started when Mark returned from his travels in Canada early 2005. We have all grown up together, so it didn’t take much to start to form. Mark and Matthew started writing together, and were later joined by bass player Abel Fry. Since then, Mark has been on several trips around UK and South Africa, so it’s kind of hard to pick a real starting date. But I’d have to say since his last return in May 2006, that’s when it really started to pick up pace.

What are the three most important albums for you, and why?

Kent, Isola.

When Mark was in Canada he met a Swedish guy that put him onto this beauty. Kent are from Sweden, and they really inspire us in the way they use such emotion and melody.

Jeff Buckley, Grace.

Who isn’t inspired by this guy? This album is important to us, because it carries a huge amount of raw emotion. He truly created something special.

Radiohead, Kid A. This album takes me to a place of dreaminess. It’s sad, and I think everyone can relate to it.

Part of your Myspace description is “film soundtracks”.

What do you mean by this? Do you play covers of film scores?

Sorry, no film scores! But we’d love to in the future! We loved the play on words, mainly.

… We are all interested in the creative “art” side of life – Foreign Films being the experimentation with the unfamiliar; be that art, film, dress I’ve heard that the percussion elements of your music feature a tambourine and a cowbell. Um … why?

Your Sauces are correct! Matt loves to experiment with all sorts of percussion sounds. His latest addition is what we like to call “jingle bells”! Basically, they’re what you hear when Santa is around!

Oh, “our Sauces” … that’s brilliant, guys. Are cowbells the new black?

I don’t think cow bells are the new black yet, but they could be if enough people like them!

Foreign Films play Launceston’s Door Of Hope on the 7th of July, and Newstead College on the 26th. www.myspace.com/foreignfilms

S O JOURN

Rock Is About To Come Home …

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

Four guys who grew up listening to Nirvana and worshipping Australian rock, Tasmanianformed, Melbourne-based four-piece, Sojourn are returning to the state this June to play the venues where most of them first cut their performing teeth onstage. I spoke to them about their new EP, their upcoming journey to L.A., and the five albums mankind would be lost without …

You guys moved from Tasmania to Melbourne in 2001. What did you initially plan to do there? Was playing music always the goal, or did Melbourne offer something else?

Melbourne offered something new, something bigger, and more opportunities. We’d been playing around Tassie since we were sixteen, done a few national supports and toured Victoria and NSW by the time we were eighteen, so it seemed like a natural progression to move over.

Last we heard, you were working on an EP. What stage is that at now?

It’s all finished and being sent off to various people in the industry, with a couple of people shopping it around for us.

It’s not officially a release, but we’ll definitely bring some to Tassie, since we may not be back for a while!

Dave Grohl’s everyone’s best friend, and it’s always good to have a best friend around.

What can you tell me about the sound of this release?

It sounds like what we’ve wanted to sound like for years, but never quite nailed it until now. Its rock n’ roll in what I think the true sense is – it’s loud, it’s driving, but it’s hooky, and it’s laced with melody.

How did you start working with Loki Lockwood?

We just met Loki through being in the industry and playing around Melbourne. He saw us play a few times and then offered to produce an EP for us. He’s done some amazing work, including Spiderbait and the Drones, so we jumped at the chance to get into the studio with him.

You’re returning to play in Tassie for the first time in five years. What sets Tasmanian audiences apart from those in Melbourne?

Like I said, playing in Tassie was always fun; there’s just more people in Melbourne. It’s hard for us to say as well, because we left Tassie when we were eighteen. We’re twenty-three now, have played a lot more, changed quite a lot, and it will be great to get back to the state and play to all our friends and Tassie crowds again.

PAGE 10

I understand you’re heading to Los Angeles in November. Why is this? What are you hoping to accomplish?

A couple of us have been over before to suss out the industry over there and make some contacts. We’re all keen to play in another country just for the experience. A lot of Australian bands go to Europe, which is cool – we just thought we’d do something different. We have key people interested in helping us out in LA, and who are willing to promote Sojourn, so it just seems like the right thing for us to do.

“Sojourn” literally means “a temporary stay”. What does the name say about the band? Is it that you don’t stay in one particular style permanently? Or does it mean that this band is a “sojourn” for its members, and isn’t a permanent commitment?

The one great thing about the band right now is that we’re all 100% committed. I’ve never thought about the meaning too much – maybe it’s that we’re doing our thing, having a great time, and, if it doesn’t last forever, at least we’re giving it our all now. Whoever really has a great “band name story” really anyway?!

To what extent do you believe I was talking out of my arse with that last question? After all, I reckon the Butthole Surfers have one that’s an absolute cracker.

I think you were pulling at strings, mate, but well done for giving it a go.

Cheers. Now, what are five albums man should never be without, and why?

Foo Fighters – The Colour and the Shape – Because Dave Grohl’s everyone’s best friend, and it’s always good to have a best friend around.

Weezer – Blue – Heavy pop for geeks. Who wouldn’t want this record with them?

The Beatles – Sgt Pepper – This isn’t a cliché choice – it’s just a fucking unbelievable record.

Nirvana – In Utero – Reminds you that no matter how hard you try to write an album to alienate your fans, if it’s got killer riffs and melodies, they’re still gonna love it.

Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream – Because it’s my favourite album, OK? Sojourn play Hobart’s Republic Bar on the 29th of June, and Launceston’s James Hotel on the 30th.

JONA BYRO N

If You Were To Die Tomorrow, What Would You Regret?

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

Melancholy and art seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? Whether it’s Nick Cave’s somber crooning, Trent Reznor singing Hurt or Van Gogh cutting off his ear, the link between sadness and creativity seems inextricable. It’s a good thing, then, that this partnership can yield such morosely beautiful things. Enter “clergyman of melancholy” Jona Byron, who is heading southward for the “Halo of Tasmania” tour.

He spoke to me about being a greenie, plans for upcoming albums, and what he’d wish he’d done if he were to die tomorrow.

You’ve been described as a “clergyman of melancholy”. That sounds cheery. What do you think this means? And to what extent do you believe it’s an accurate representation of you?

I believe that descriptions like that are subjective to the listener, and I like to think that my music would be open to interpretation, given that there are a plethora of different influences in my music, including my instrumental side. But it’s fairly common for most artists to be pigeonholed so if it’s melancholy emotions that people feel when hearing my songs, then I can live with that.

Another interesting quote was “singers like Byron often act as a mirror for those emotions we tend to bury.”

What are those emotions? And why do you think people tend to bury them?

I’m not the kind of singer who likes to blow his own trumpet as some kind of lighthouse for repressed individuals, I just think that that quote came from a viewpoint that maybe some of my material sheds light onto some often difficult and sensitive topics, which some people may avoid. But I wouldn’t consider myself to be a controversial writer, just honest in my opinions when it comes to matters of the heart and the human condition.

What was the last thing that inspired you to write a song?

A girl named Jane, bless her wicked heart.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve ever learned as a musician?

To always be yourself, to be authentic in your approach and delivery and even in the lifestyle you lead. There are two types of musicians I believe; the one’s who are playing the game – the pop market – and then the one’s who are in it for the long haul. I like to think of myself as the latter – I’m thirty-four and have been in the music biz now for a good eight years in Melbourne, and have been playing music since I was sixteen when I grew up in Perth. I have come close a few years back to a record contract with a major label, and it really made me realise how much of the industry is a game, and a business.

And what has been the most important lesson you’ve

learned as a person?

That’s a tough question because it’s also a very personal one.

We never stop learning as human beings of course, but in the last few years I’ve learnt a lot about the importance of having inner strength, and that proud independence is a noble trait. And wearing your heart on your sleeve isn’t always the smartest thing to do; there are other meritorious goals besides relationships, like the environment and music.

One of my favourite photos of you is you lying in a coffin-shaped pose, clutching your guitar. If you were to die tomorrow, what would you want written on your tombstone? And what would you regret not having done yet?

“Thanks for the flowers”. If I died tomorrow, I would like to think I had no regrets, but my only regret would be not having enough music recorded, and not having the chance to be a father … or owing my own little patch of land, sitting in my rocking chair while plucking away on my banjo as an old man.

One of your Tasmanian shows is a Wilderness Society benefit. Would it be fair to say that you’re a bit of a greenie? What motivated you to do this show?

Well, my friend Arrow organized that show, and yes, I am a bit of a greenie I suppose. I have worked for both the Wilderness Society and Greenpeace in the past, and I’m an avid supporter of environmental groups, and I think that there’s a growing awareness on climate change and the impact that we are having on this planet. It means a great deal to me to focus more attention towards these paramount issues, now and in the future. I mean, it’s our planet, and our children’s future. It’s a moral obligation for every human being to help make changes now I think. Yeah … I’m a greenie.

You’re also a member of The Boats – an instrumental act. What have you been doing with them recently?

The Boats are getting busy. We finished our debut album a while ago and we are still in the process of finding a label to put it out. We are playing a showcase gig with another Melbourne instrumental act, The Spheres, in August, and if no other labels pick us up after that, then we’ll be releasing it through another label. We have also recorded most of our second album and will be finishing that off this year. I

… If it’s melancholy emotions that people feel when hearing my songs, then I can live with that. love playing in The Boats; it’s a whole unique experience in relation to being a singer/songwriter, considering it’s mostly improvised, and all instrumental. I would like to see The Boats recording more film soundtrack music in the future and tour, and play festivals. Our web site is www.theboats. net for all who are interested.

Last I heard, you were working on a debut album.

What stage is that at?

It’s a slow process, and I started recording it back in 2005 with my drummer Dale G. Thomas, and I have pretty much recorded nearly all the overdubs and instruments myself, but this year I have begun inviting other artists to help me complete the long and winding project. I have the Wintership

Quartet recording strings soon, and I’ve had backing vocals from Emily Taylor from Plastic Palace Alice, and I have a few more great musicians to lend a hand. I kinda have two albums on the go – one I started in 2005, that I’m trying to finish up, and new drum tracks I recorded this year that are the bones of the second album. I just want to get the debut finished and out this year and then I can move on. It’s becoming a bit of a monkey on my back, but I know I’ll be proud of it when it’s all finished.

Jona Byron plays The Loft in Hobart on June 29th, The Republic Bar on the 3rd of July and the Lark Distillery on the 5th and 7th.

KARAO KE

Australian Trials 2007 NEWS

$ 3 5 , 0 0 0 i n C a s h & P r i z e s To B e Wo n !

“So,” you might say, “what is a karaoke singer doing in a music magazine?” Well, I thought the same thing. But then I realised something – karaoke can be just a bit of fun, but it can also function as a training ground for those with aspirations of performing as professionals. Now, with the State Finals not so far away, I talked to last year’s winner, Jade Hodgetts. “The Saloon asked me to sing a song during the break in between the heats of the karaoke World Idol Championships this year,” he explained, “because I won it last year and represented Tasmania in the national finals.” So what was it that got him there? “I sang Soul Man in the style of the Blues Brothers and Evie by The Wrights.”

While those tracks didn’t win over the national finals – “the judges seemed to favor power ballads over raw rock,” he reflected – it’s not going to stop him from resurrecting his Blues Brothers persona when he performs during this year’s heats.

To be a part of this competition, you’d better get moving! The last heat at The Saloon, the venue’s final, is on Friday 29th of June, which is your last chanced to qualify for the State Final, again at the Saloon, on the 6th of July. You’ve gotta be in it to win it, as the saying goes, and this year the State Final winner will receive a weekend airfare & accommodation package to contest the Grand Final at Twin Towns Services Club on Australia’s fabulous Gold Coast on, Saturday, 4th August, 2007!

PLUS 5 night Club Crocodile Airlie Beach Holiday* DVD Player & Discs plus a $100.00 voucher from Capital Karaoke* Karaoke World Championships 2007 Australian State Final Winner Trophy.

The national champion gets a bunch of cool stuff, including a trip to the World Finals in Thailand. The prize package includes::

2006 Australian Champion Mark Wilson (QLD) 1st Place - KWC Finland 2006

Return airfare to Thailand 7 nights accommodation AU$2000.00 Spending Money PLUS 7 night Club Crocodile Airlie Beach Holiday PLUS Capital Karaoke Pack* including DVD Player, Twin Radio Microphones, Pair 15” Speakers, Amplifier & Discs PLUS AU$3000.00 BBX Shopping Account PLUS Karaoke World Championships 2007 Australian Champion trophy!

PAGE 11

BL UEL I NE M ED I C

ROCK SALT

So, What Do You Like The Best

By David Williams So, for those who haven’t heard it, what can we tell you about the latest album, 42:19 from melodic rockers Blueline Medic that will give you an idea of what to expect? How about the fact that guitarist Adrian can listen to it without cringing? Is that a fair indication that those who’ve loved them up to this point are only going to get more loyal to this Melbourne four-piece? We think so …

I’ve got a “What Do You Like Best?” list. It starts off with “What do you like best about what you’ve done today?”

Oh, shit, mate … all I’ve done is “been at work!”

There’s nothing that great about that … “What do I like best about what I’ve done today?” I’ve got the pasta sauce on the brew at the moment, so we could say “cooking”.

OK, nice. What’s in the pot?

It just a tomato-based sauce – it’s got a bunch of veggies in it, that includes mushroom and spinach and capsicum.

You sound like you’re a vegetarian.

I’m not vegetarian, mate, no. But I don’t mind cooking vego food. So let’s just say that by the time the sauce is ready, and I’m eating it later … …That that is the highlight?

Yeah! That’s the best thing I’ll do today!

So what do you like best about being in a band?

Ah … playing shows, and recording. The process of recording – from writing the songs right through to mixing, and, probably more so, playing live. That’s kind of why you do it, really. And hanging out with my mates; hanging out with the boys. That’d be the best thing. And, I guess, since we’ve

been together since ’99, it’s a bit like a little club, I suppose.

We know each other pretty well.

So what do you like best about playing guitar?

[Laughs] Making a lot of noise! When it comes to electric guitar, making as much noise as possible. And finding … you know, when you’re playing guitar, and you’re either in your room at home practicing, or trying to come up with new things – that’s probably one of the highlights of playing guitar. If you’re stumbling around at home, playing, and you find something that you like, or you think that the other guys in the band will like, and it’s something new – a new song, or a new riff – those sorts of things are probably the best thing about playing guitar. And also just the escape value of it. You lock yourself away for a few hours and just play … not worry about anything else.

OK. What do you like best about your latest CD, 42:19?

I like the songs. For me, it’s probably the best record that we’ve done as a band, and the thing that I like best about it is that I’m actually enjoying listening to it; I’m actually able to put it on and listen to it without cringing, if we can put it that way. Sometimes, you listen to what you’ve done, and there’s always a question mark – like, “I could have done that better”, or “I should have maybe done that there”. You tend to critique it too much. But this one … the best thing about it is being able to listen to it, and enjoy it for a bunch of songs.

It’s probably the best record that we’ve done as a band … I’m actually enjoying listening to it

A I RBOURNE

Hang On, Did He Just Say That Americans Are Better?

ROCK SALT

By David Williams Having a sense of patriotism can be all well and good. But to risk the quality of a musical endeavor for the sake of flag-humping would be stupid. One band you don’t need to tell that to is Airbourne. I spoke to drummer Ryan O’Keeffe about the process of in my opinion the bands latest, and greatest, Runnin’ Wild.

When you guys set out to make this album, did you have a clear idea of where you were going?

Yeah, we had an absolutely clear idea of what we wanted it to sound like. That’s exactly how it’s come out, too.

And it’s ended up as what you’d envisaged?

Yeah … Hell yeah.

We recorded where the Rolling Stones had recorded a week beforehand … you can’t get that in Australia I guess, then, that you guys had the majority of control over what you were doing. It doesn’t sound like the producer had much of an influence.

Nah … everyone who was involved knew what sort of a beast it was, and they knew that they couldn’t fuck with it, so to speak … It’d be very difficult to come into the band’s circle and change anything.

It’s just impossible to get through. We still live together in Thornberry and stuff, so we’re a tight unit. But they were great – the producer and that. They were really great. They helped us out and stuff, and got the sounds we wanted, and got those sounds the way we wanted – big kick drums, big guitar tones and stuff like that.

Why did you go to Los Angeles to record it? The Americans, [in terms of] the technology and the skills – is it that far ahead of what we’re doing in Australia?

Yeah, they are ahead. Over there, it’s all of that … but the best thing is, you can get all of that in the one room. That’s

PAGE 12

where they all live. That’s where all the best in the biz live.

You can get a snare drum at one o’clock in the morning if you need one – whatever you want, at whatever time. We recorded where the Rolling Stones had recorded a week beforehand … It’s getting, like, Dave, who’s an engineer … he’s Rick Rubin’s engineer … in a room where the Stones had recorded a week beforehand … you can’t get that in Australia. As much as we love the country, we wanted to make this album the best we could, so we had to do that.

Here’s a bit of a sticky question for you … I heard that when you guys originally got your record deal, that it was for a million bucks. How true is that?

Oh, mate … if I had a million bucks, I definitely wouldn’t be living in a house with [these] guys; the same house we’ve been living in for … almost three years now.

All of the band lives together?

Yeah, in Thornberry.

That must be pretty pressure [inducing] – always being surrounded by your band.

It’s actually quite … a lot of people think that we fight all the time. Me and Joel fight sometimes, because we’re brothers … But this is what we do; this is our job. Everyone knows what this is. Obviously, there’s always sacrifices and stuff like that, but, you know, that’s part of playing rock n’ roll.

To what extent do you reckon that the track Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast could be a soundtrack to the lives of Airbourne so far?

Yeah … that’s pretty accurate. We do have a lot of fun!

[Laughs] Yeah.

Airborne are touring the mainland in July. Runnin’ Wild is out now.

To listen to the entire interview, go to www.sauce.net. au

CEL I BATE R I F LES

Back By Unpopular Demand ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

In a one-two punch of veteran Oz rock, Hobart’s Trout is about to pay host to two of this country’s most traveled and influential groups – the Cosmic Psychos, and the revered Celibate Rifles. On the release of a best-of compilation with a difference – with each member actually putting together their own disc of favourites – I spoke with Damien Lovelock – yes, the soccer guy from SBS – about where the Rifles sit in the last twenty years of rock music.

Back in 1986, David Fricke, a critic, wrote that, “At a time when most punk outrage was just witless spleen at 90mph, these Aussie spitfires have fired off a release that shakes with lyric force and experimental valor, not just speed and volume.” What do you reckon he’d write about the Celibate Rifles today? Or don’t you give a Fricke? [Ba-zing!]

Funnily enough, I think we still routinely send him a copy of everything we release, but because we’re not touring America every year and stuff anymore, I don’t know … I suspect that he would be as big a fan of the band now as he was then, because I do know … the last time I spoke to David, I think we’d released Spaceman … maybe Mid-Stream…, which was, what, five years ago or six years ago – Mid-Stream Of Consciousness. And he said then, among other things, “don’t ever break up.”

Did the band ever appear mainstream at any point?

Or were you always a band that occupied a particular niche?

I think the latter is probably true. We got close to mainstream popularity, I would say, in the late 80s; about the time we came to Hobart – the only other time we’ve played there. We released Blind Ear. We were given a budget to make a record for the first time in our lives – a decent budget – and money to spend on promotion and all of that. The sales of Blind Ear certainly reflected it, and we were very … close to crossing

over. But I would say that, at the time – particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, which are the two main markets, because that’s where the most people live, obviously – Triple M ruled the roost. And Triple M would not play the Celibate Rifles under any circumstances. But it got to the point …

They had an Australian music show once a week – which was on at, like, four o’clock in the morning or something [laughs] because it had to meet their content criteria. And I went on there … like, it was a real close thing. There was no longer any obvious reason for them not to add O Salvation or Johnny

or Wonderful Life – one of the three folk-ish tracks off Blind Ear – except that we were so identified with Triple J … For a young reader today, the gap between alternative music and mainstream was considerable, whereas now it’s all the same thing. Everything is the same market. It’s a much more homogenous world.

The Celibate Rifles play with the Cosmic Psychos at Hobart’s Republic Bar on July 7th. To listen to the entire interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

Triple M would not play the Celibate Rifles under any circumstances.

Well that’s encouraging!

Yeah. He was a real fan of the band – like, serious fan. I mean, the fact that he was a writer with Musician and later Rolling Stone was sort of helpful. But it was nicer to have somebody who had so much knowledge and so much access to music to see such value in what you did, because it has to be said – that wasn’t the case in our own country up ‘till 1986. With a few exceptions, most people didn’t seem to know what to make of us, or dismissed us as suburban, and therefore irrelevant. [Laughs] It just goes to show – you don’t argue with Rolling Stone.

I mean, the Rolling Stone that Fricke first started writing for is probably fairly different to the one that exists today … that could be said of most music journalism generally today, I think. It’s become a different thing to what it was back then.

Where do you think the Celibate Rifles have sat throughout the timeline of the Australian music scene?

PAGE 13

THE DEAD A BI GA I LS

This Is The End ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

Everything has a beginning. And everything also has to have an end. On the 7th of April 2004, the first edition of SAUCE was launched across Tasmania. On its cover; a band who has, in the time since, become arguably Tasmania’s finest musical export – The Dead Abigails. They played pop-rock with alternative sensibilities and an almost telepathic musical tightness. They toured internationally and played to thousands, but looked just as comfortable playing a show in the Newstead College common room when this writer was still in school. They were there for our beginnings, and now, unfortunately, we are here for the end. But why is this drawing to a close? I spoke to front-man Carl Fidler to find out.

I’m exceedingly disheartened to hear that The Dead Abigails will soon be playing their last-ever show. Why is the band breaking up?

Randall decided to move to the UK to pursue his DJ career.

It’s a bold move, but one we all support. There aren’t enough opportunities here for him and I’m sure he’ll do just fine over there. We toyed with the idea of getting a new drummer, but in the end we all agreed it was time. I think we felt limited by our style of music and we wanted to try something new.

How long has this been on the cards, and how do you each feel about it?

Randy brought it up about a month ago and we’ve been mulling over the possibilities. None of us were surprised really, and possibly a little relieved. The past seven years have been an amazing journey for us, and we’re proud of our achievements, but seven years is a long time. It didn’t actually hit me until I was putting up posters for the show. I will miss this band. It’s probably the most amazing experience I’ve ever had, but I think we all feel strangely liberated now, and looking forward to new challenges.

Have you given any thought as to what you each want

to move on to doing?

Randy’s going to be a UK DJ Superstar. Glenn’s looking forward to settling down on a farm and having a family. Coz is going to be merchant banker and I’m moving to Channel Nine. Actually, Glenn, Coz and I have already started writing songs for the next project. There was always going to be a “next project”! We’re looking forward to playing again. I mean

The past seven years have been an amazing journey for us, and we’re proud of our achievements, but seven years is a long time. really playing – not just performing the same parts over and over, but locking in and making the music new each time, but I’ll tell you more about that later.

When SAUCE first began, the Abigails were on the

cover. You guys were there at our beginnings. Now, we’re here for the end of the band. Looking back, what have been some of your best memories from being in the Abigails?

There have been so many awesome moments, too many to recount, and the boys will probably all have their own favourites, but playing in the UK to that crowd of 30,000 and hearing our first song on National Radio are my best memories.

What impact or influence do you think the Abigails have had on the Tasmanian music scene in its lifespan?

I don’t think we did any damage to pop music sales in Lonnie!

If anything we may have inspired some people to give it a crack. When we first started we were so certain of what we were doing that it felt like there was an energy around us that kept building. People seemed to be convinced, the venues were happy, and even the more conservative mainstream media supported us. It was a pretty good ride.

When and where will you be playing this final show, and why? Was there a specific reason you chose this venue to play at?

Irish Murphy’s. The 27th! We played a lot of our early shows at Irish and we wanted to go back to where it started. They’re going to a lot of trouble to make this show a fitting farewell for us.

What material will you be bringing out during your set?

We’re going to go right back to the beginning and make a journey out of the set. This will probably be the last time we get to play these songs, so we want to make the most of it.

What do you think would make this show a perfect kind of finale for the Abigails? What could the audience do to make it special for you?

Turn up and enjoy the show.

Carl, with the band coming to an end, how likely is it that you’ll start acting (and dressing) your age?

Not a chance mate – I’m having way too much fun. Cheers.

The Dead Abigails play their final performance at Irish Murphy’s in Launceston on Wednesday the 27th of June. This is an event not to be missed.

TH E MUDDY T U R D S

Hey Baby, I Want To Eat Your Dacks ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

They’re possibly one of Tasmania’s most original and inimitable musical acts, and at the end of July they will be taking their comedic garage blues-punk to the mainland for a two week tour. Something tells me that the mainland isn’t going to know what hit them. I spoke to Mark Turd about the forthcoming album, and whether or not he still loves me.

I understand you’re working on a new album?

When will you be pinching that one off, and how will you be doing it?

There is no date set – we are just working or recording songs, and when they are done, they are done. We are anticipating some firm and polished material to be expunged by the end of the year at the latest.

What kind of subject matter do you delve into on this new work?

Most of the songs we are recoding we have been playing live for a while, but we might have some new material about dead pet pandas. The topics are usually a bit weird. The other Turds tend to push the disturbing topics – I prefer the whacky/random topics. Surprisingly there isn’t much about poo. Music-wise, we will have more sounds on this next one – we have already added organ and beatboxing, and hopefully we will get some harmonica and sax solos.

More effects and layering, some breakdowns, harmonies, bridges and polyrhythms have been added to songs.

You’ve produced a single which you will be taking over to the mainland to tour. What can you tell us about this track?

It will be a triple-single, like the last release – it’s a bit degrading to the other two songs to call them b-sides. These are basically a few songs that are ready to go, and with the mainland tour it seems like a good time to squeeze them out and snap them off. These songs are pretty close to “live in the studio”, so they are a good reflection of what the Turds are live. The first song is Dacks, which people have most likely heard us play at gigs. It’s about a very good pick up line.

Your show at the last Freakshow was probably one of my favourite Turds gigs, despite the fact that a dodgy bass lead made it sound completely appalling. Why do you think I would like the gig more because of it?

To what extent would you agree that The Muddy Turds have never been about perfection?

Gigs like the Freakshow are great because they cross into arts/performance areas rather than just music, which is something that the Turds have the potential to do well, as we are performers as well as musicians. Our plan for that gig was to have a mini-play acted out in front of us by interpretative dancers as we provided the soundtrack. The songs followed a theme – girl makes a robot, robot likes to dance, robot takes a fancy to dogs, robot likes to dance.

With the issue of the sound, I am pretty sure there was nothing wrong with a lead – don’t know where you got that from. I think we just suffered a bad sound mix because we were the first band after the cabaret acts and the PA wasn’t ready for our Muddy onslaught. Also the fact that we were PAGE 14

running a lot of sounds through one channel (beatbox, bass loops, live bass and harmony vocals) might have made it hard for the sound engineer.

Although we do the comedy/slacker/improvising thing, and you think bad sound complements that, we actually cherish good mixes; when we can hear everything clearly, we deliver the sounds better, and when the vocals come through loud and clear, people can hear the lyrics, and the lyrics are a key part of the Turds. To address the topic of perfection, I have studied some clowning, and a lot of that work as a performer is to not have anything prepared and act off instincts and impulses, and the result is something quite funny and very entertaining. This is like an attitude to take into the Turds musically, when both the audience and the

band don’t really know what is going to happen next, then it makes for good entertainment, and it is the opposite of a band that rehearse to perfection and don’t want to get a single note out of place.

On that subject, why the hell were you wearing full ski gear while playing? And why did you take it back off me when I stole it from you?

Just an excuse to dress up. I thought about wearing cyclist’s Lycra and a helmet, but apparently someone from Machine Gun Fellatio used to do that, so ski gear was the next best thing, especially as it was about thirty degrees. Beau was wearing a giant nappy made of bubble wrap, and Dan was a cowboy in a kilt. The robotman was dressed as a robot. I needed it back because I wanted to go up Ben Lomond the next day.

You’re no fun. What do you think a truly “rock moment” is? And when was the last time the Turds had one?

Rock moments can be avoided by eating lots of fibre and avoiding too much cheese. Sometimes a beer bog can be a bit of a rock, especially if you are dehydrated and have been holding it all day.

While having more money would obviously be nice, if the Turds got a lot of commercial recognition, do you think that would spoil it?

Last gig my distortion pedal played up, it would lose volume, then I would kick it and it would start working again. I guess we have the ability to run with things like that without missing a beat. I guess if we had money, then the gear would be better and that sort of stuff wouldn’t happen.

However we would still have that slightly improvised or loose and jamming element because Beau (drums) and I (bass) can feed off each other and improvise along if someone decides to play something differently.

I actually find that to be one of the most fun things about performing – doing something random or unexpected, and the rest of the band not knowing that it was coming. Then I get to see the expressions on their faces … I got off the topic there, didn’t I? If you could have a rider of anything you desired, regardless of cost, the laws of physics and any sense of ethics, what would you ask for, and why?

I had some wallaby lasagna recently – that was choice (thanks Carl). So some more of that, plus a bit more musical ability, perhaps a bit of world peace. A sudden revolution where suburbanites get up from their couches and interact with each other to form stronger senses of community, then they start attending gigs and taking circus classes (which I teach at Hobart Gymnastics Academy – end plug).

Mark, you’re a funny-looking man. Why do you look so funny?

Your mum.

I just got back from the doctor, and I don’t know how to tell you this, but after what happened between us at Falls, I think you should get yourself tested. Mark, will you still love me?

I think it was on Joe’s Garage that Frank said, “Why does it hurt when I pee?” I guess I can stop wondering. As for you, it depends on your morning breath. www.myspace.com/muddyturds

The Freestylers + Rogue Element Syrup House Party

Intercooler + Mary Trembles

John Course + Dirty South

HALO – 13/6/07

JAMES HOTEL – 15/6/07

SALOON – 16/06/07

In a dark, mega-colourful, happy environment of bright lights, lasers, and smoke, with an extremely bubbly, happy, motivated crowd, the Saloon had the pleasure of John Course & Dirty South sharing the new pumping tracks as a part of the almighty Ministry Of Sound Annual Tour.

Reported Found: One battered individual with the physical effects of six hours of loving fresh, thumping breaks.

Reported Missing: A pocketful of senses, my dignity and part of my memory.

Instigators: Halo, The Rogue Element and The Freestylers.

Witnesses: None yet to come forward.

Details of events: Well officer, I was minding my own business when bang! Out of nowhere, this Rogue Element hit me in the side with some of the meanest and heaviest nu-skool breaks I have heard.

I fell, not prepared for one of the most innovative breaks producers around who mixed even harder, not stopping to see if I was okay.

Before I had time to recover, The Freestylers bowled me over again with fresh new tracks of their own, and a few from their friends. People had swarmed to see what was happening, and I got lost in a sea of wild arms, screaming as the Freestylers moved their set into a selection of some of their big tunes such as Painkiller and a remix of Electrified.

To be honest, Officer, at this point things got a little cheesy, with tunes that had been played in every club for months.

But the vibe was still intense, and I think it was during this point when I felt someone steal my dignity along with my other senses. Did I lose it? No, officer, I was holding on to it I swear. To be honest, the night was so huge it all seems like a blur now, with only a bell left ringing in my ears.

FELIX BLACKLER

Syrup is known to throw its birthdays in style. Now while fairy floss, a clown and a party bag at the end of the night would do it for me, Syrup took out all stops this year to make it a memorable one. Mind you, there was still the clown, but his friendly smile was replaced by some unnecessary lovemaking to the pole on the dance floor.

Giving back to the thousands of punters who have passed through their doors, the night was loaded with sixteen of Tassie’s finest DJs across two levels, some tasty treats, and a smorgasbord of friendly cocktails. The doors were flung open early, and I made my way straight to the first level as DSKO and Scotty Woodhouse were weaving some chunky house through the crowd, only to be followed by some inspiring work by Gillie, Kir and a few new faces who definitely made themselves known to the regulars.

Recognising our local talent and their abilities, Syrup displayed the best selection of Hobart DJs from different bars and clubs, and I was utterly impressed at the mixing and skills on offer.

If you think you need to move to the mainland for decent gigs, let alone touring acts, come and let me remove the bullshit between your ears, and then I will personally take you out for a memorable night savoring our local produce.

A great night at Syrup, and, like all good birthdays, I woke up sore and, to my surprise, with a party bag … just not with what I wanted inside.

At the James, it seems that support bands have a knack of upstaging the main attraction. I’ve seen it many times before, and it was once again the case from the very first chord of three-piece Mary Trembles. Infectious, hook-laden rock played with the enthusiasm of a teenager about to lose his virginity, these guys were electric. I’ll tell you now – this trio would make a band like The Vasco Era wet their pants. They played their instruments like they hated them – breaking strings and even blowing out the bottom of the snare – and were so loud that folks in the smoking area had to yell into each other’s ears. A fun, lively band with an air of spontaneity (not to mention killer dress sense), I’m definitely looking forward to their next visit.

It’s unfortunate, then, that the performance of the main attraction seemed to fall significantly short by comparison.

Intercooler’s playing was tight, and despite a technical hitch with the bass, their set went by the numbers; rock played by people who definitely know what they’re doing. But to match the kind of charisma and stage presence that was still ringing in our ears from the support band was a tough goal to accomplish, and, in my eyes, Intercooler just didn’t make the cut. After all, in a live environment, it’s one thing to play music, but making the audience feel is another thing entirely. Do they just need a larger audience to really come into their own? It’s certainly a possibility.

In amongst the love shared between the patrons, Buff Star Dlux kicked off the night with some tight jackin’ house tunes to warm up the crowd. For his first experience of giving the CDJ 1000’s a real decent crack, he pulled it off quite successfully. Heads up to Buff!

The crowd roared to see a smiling John Course ready to get the dance floor grooving to some funky house tunes.

For anybody that was there, no one could forget the track that mentioned It’s All About The House Music! There was a gigantic cheer as John slammed the big build to get some sweat dripping from a hot, sticky crowd. John – playing in a harder nature compared to his recent tours – showed his skills on the decks, with many rolling builds and use of the FX definitely stealing the show for the night.

Next up on the pitch we had Dirty South, who you could tell the patrons were getting hyped up about – cheering as he walked onto the stage. Showing little emotion, Dirty threw down a very successful set, yet didn’t really offer much of a peak for the eager, hungry clubbers who just wanted more.

Last on the list, we had a very excited Phat ’n’ Ugly lit up in their rave T-shirts, showing why these two guys battle each other to motivate any crowd to enjoy the next level of pumping tracks. With Little Cam’s dextrous devotion to vinyl and PD’s love of CDJ’s, the duo seem to always have an extreme amount of energy, and feed off each other’s styles to provide tunes of fat and ugly essences.

TOM WILSON

If you were there, you know it was a fucking great night of fun!

FELIX BLACKLER

PATRICK DUKE

Sodom

Terraplane

Chi Roh + Our Silent Diary

K-Oscillate

REPUBLIC BAR – 9/6/07

ROYAL OAK – 23/06/07

TROUT – 16/6/07

Curly’s Bar – 22/6/07

After a few weeks of some pretty hard-edged bands at the Republic, this gig was going to be interesting – almost an overload. But there was no way I was going to miss it. I arrived early and treated myself to one of The Republic’s damn fine Jack Daniels steaks. Right-o – bring it on guys!

Supports were Abacinate, Nosce Teipsum and The Wizar’d.

Good solid work from all three, although Nosce Teipsum fitted my likings for metal more than the other two. They are the more experienced of the three, so I guess that is to be expected. There was a good crowd showing already, and another week of a sea of black shirts in North Hobart. The highlight out of the three supports would have to be the lead guitar work out of Nosce Teipsum. Yeah, OK, it can be a bit formulaic – but Jesus he does it well.

I figured Sodom were going to be good, just on their reputation. I hadn’t heard their music before and usually will get a listen to tracks before I go to a gig, to get a feel for what the band are up to. But for some reason I didn’t do that this time. But I didn’t need to. From the first tune, these guys just made me feel like I was a teenager again (in a good way). Shows what years of practice will do. Sodom created a rawness that somehow sounded polished at the same time. The crowd was going off, too. I struggled to get a decent photo, as the mosh was never still, and consisted of half of the room.

As far as it goes for a blues band in Tasmania, you cannot go past Terraplane. The band has been playing for more than ten years all across the state, and were nominated in four categories of the Victorian and Tasmanian Blues Awards in 2005. Also, in 2001, they made their international debut in Bali, where they played with John March and The Circuitbreakers (US), proving that they are a blues band of international standard. They were really nice guys, and a song was even dedicated to myself – “the young lady with the camera.”

This was the last official gig for Mike the drummer; he will be replaced by Andrew Hall, so a big farewell to Mike. It was not an overly large crowd on the night, but, as said by vocalist Pat Tilley, “Quality not quantity.” The way the harmonica and saxophone were added into the performance showed that Pat was a multi-talented musician, and the way the rest of the band supported him demonstrated their love for the music.

The band were making a DVD of this gig, which is a pretty big kudos to Tasmania. The dynamics of the gig were great, so hopefully the video will capture that.

The way they interacted with the crowd was wonderful, creating a more casual and relaxed atmosphere, making everyone feel at home with them and their music, as if they were in the comfort of their own lounge room. If you like your blues music, put on your dancing shoes and go catch these guys at a gig. Great entertainment, and a fun night out.

KEVIN GLEESON

CAROLE WHITEHEAD

Curly’s has been pulling a nice mix of live acts, and K-Oscillate from Melbourne was to be no exception. After making my sub-arctic death stares at anyone who looked slightly warm during the support, it didn’t take too long before these 3 guys jumped to the stage and delivered a huge level of energy to the dancefloor.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you weren’t at Trout on 16/6, you missed some of the best new talent to hit Hobart’s music scene in a long time. It all started with Our Silent Diary warming the room up and sending metal fans into overdrive.

Their music is heavy but melodic, with softly-sung vocals and killer riffs building up into a full-paced metal onslaught to nod your head to, with bass player Rohan adding fullmetal-horns screams in back-up vocals blending greatly with their tones.

Then on came the highly anticipated Chi-Roh. They packed out Trout with their first gig on a Thursday night, and didn’t disappoint this time either. Their funky, groovy rock tunes had everyone dancing, sending all their fans into a frenzy.

With “dirty rock” songs like Deadman and the crowd favorite Backdoor, they had everyone singing along and dancing ‘till we were kicked out. I have to say the arrangements of this band were brilliant and every song is as catchy as the next.

Armed with merely drum-kit, a bevvy of synths, samplers and one mad vocalist, K-Osciallte proceeded to perform an amazing live set that left me speechless.

I actually felt the end of my toes start thawing as the build ups on some of their tracks held the crowd mid-air before dropping deep resonating bass lines that were followed by an array of melodic samples. It really is awesome to hear live electronic music that explores so many levels and utilises different sounds to create something perfectly unique and enjoyable, and these guys nailed it.

A great night with two very different styles of band on show.

I can’t wait for these guys’ next gig. Keep an eye out!

K-Oscillate ended up being an unexpected yet entertaining night, with drum and bass that captured and held me throughout their set. Some more dedicated d’n’b heads might have trouble comparing this Melbourne trio with big names from afar, but for me they did what some of those guys cannot do. K-Osciallate held the crowd by dropping fresh and innovating drum and bass that kept me smiling the whole way through the night.

BEN PETER

FELIX BLACKLER PAGE 15

New Velvet Revolver Album

GIG GUIDE 27th June - 10th July WEDNESDAY 27TH HOBART

Contact Carl: 0438 015 697

Curly’s Bar Dr Fink

Irish Murphy’s Stand Defiant + Our Silent Diary + The Turn Around

BANDS! DJ’S! PROMOTERS! Got a gig you’d like listed in the Sauce Gig Guide? Email details to guide@sauce.net.au

Republic Bar & Café Man Bites God

Saloon Live Bands + DJs @ 9.30PM

LAUNCESTON

Youth Arc Battle of the Bands – 12 Acts

HOBART

Mayfair Tavern Man Bites God Republic Bar & Café Kobya (Reggae Funk) Syrup Adam Turner + Scott Woodhouse + Dave Webber + Chilli Trout Edward Guglielmino + Viva Computer + Tom Bombadil + Carl Higgs The Loft Sojourn + The Frets + The Overview @ 8PM

LAUNCESTON

James Hotel Funkin Unbelievable (Last Uni Night Gig Ever) + DJ PD

A Mere $199 Power Adaptor $32

104 George St, Launceston 6331 9355 or help@barrattsmusic.com.au

RIVERVIEW HOTEL

$7.50

Breakfast Special from ffro r o m 8am, 8 a m , 7 DDay 8am Days a s week ek

43 Charles St Launceston 03 6331 4857

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Professional Service At Reasonable Rates 2 Cameron St Launceston PH: 6331 2555

Stage Door the Café Rosie Burgess + Marcus Wynwood @ 8:00PM Spurs/Warehouse Cruel Like That

HOBART

Curly’s Bar Red Rival (CD Launch) + Cityscape Riot + Rogueish Folk Hero (Melbourne) Lewisham Tavern Man Bites God Republic Bar & Café The Vasco Era + Whiskey Go Gos + Sojourn Syrup Pickle vs. Pitch Black – Shad + PKC + Wilco + Scott Woodhouse Trout She Rats (CD launch) The Loft Andrea Centazzo (USA) + Jonah Byron(MELB) + Jay Fraser @ 9PM Electric Boogaloo – Texas + Quality + Pilot

LAUNCESTON

Gunners Arms Halfmast + Woof Woof + Kids In Sandbox James Hotel Glenn Moorhouse + DJ PD

HOBART

Halo Kid Kenobi + MC Shureshock

10

(One pot per pizza) 23 LAWRENCE ST. L’TON - 6331 3891

Raincheck Lounge Live Acoustic Music Republic Bar & Café Bridget Pross @ 9PM

LAUNCESTON

James Hotel The Vasco Era + Whiskey Go Go’s + Red Rival

MONDAY 2ND

Republic Bar & Café G. B. Balding @ 8:30PM

TUESDAY 3RD DEVONPORT

Devonport Town Hall Ross Noble

HOBART

Lark Distillery Man Bites God Republic Bar & Café The Vasco Era + Whiskey Go Gos Syrup Tackyland – Naughts + Rolly + Billy Bob Dirty F*king Dancing – Gillie + Adam Turner + DSKO + Kir + Modal + Timo + Corney

Backspace Theatre The Pharmacist @ 8PM

Halo Chris Carter

Theatre Royal Ross Noble The Loft The Que + The Badluck Charms + Moe Grizzly + Transcription Of Organ Music @ 9PM Commercial Hotel Between The Devil + The Deep and Lungs + Woof Woof + The Belchers James Hotel Glenn Moorhouse + DJ PD

Stage Door the Café Ulverstone Repertory Theatre Society – “Dimboola”

HOBART

Lark Distillery Rosie Burgess

The Loft Jazz/Lounge – Guest DJs

SUNDAY 8TH BURNIE

Backspace Theatre The Pharmacist @ 8PM Republic Bar & Café Eshak (African) @ 9PM Syrup Adam Turner + Scott Woodhouse + Dave Webber + Chilli Theatre Royal Ross Noble The Loft Bump in the Night – Project Weekend + Shammie + guests

LAUNCESTON

James Hotel Sgt Green + DJ G-Rox Royal Oak The Stoics

FRIDAY 6TH BURNIE

Stage Door the Café Mikaela Campbell + Kendal McCreadie @ 7:30PM

Famous Breakfast

Bacon, Eggs, Coffee & Fresh OJ

$10

(Tear out this ad)

Normally $14.45 Offer valid until 13/07/07 150 Brisbane Street Launceston 6334 2787

LAUNCESTON

Saloon Live Bands + DJs @ 9.30PM

Aroma Records Enola Fall

10

The Loft Between The Devil & The Deep (NSW) + Lungs (NSW) @ 9PM Greg Packer (DNB) + Outlaw + B-Side + Scott Woodhouse @ 11:45PM

Syrup Adam Turner + Scott Woodhouse + Dave Webber

HOBART

We are the ONLY Radio Station servicing the entire East Coast and Fingal Valley of Tasmania!

Backspace Theatre The Pharmacist @ 8PM

James Hotel The Casanovas

Stage Door the Café Viktor Zappner Swingtet + Alex Howroyd @ 7:30PM

98.5 Bicheno, Swansea, Triabunna and Orford

Burnie Civic Centre Ross Noble

Republic Bar & Café Joe Piere + Greg Frith (Sax) @ 9PM

THURSDAY 5TH BURNIE

100.3 Scamander up through the Fingal Valley to Campbell Town

SATURDAY 7TH BURNIE

Door Of Hope Foreign Films

Saloon Uni Night - Live Band + DJ playing commercial music @ 9.30PM

93.7 Pyengana to Beaumaris

Royal Oak S&M

Curly’s Bar Detour

Princess Theatre Ross Noble

On Tasmania’s Beautiful East Coast

LAUNCESTON

Syrup Tackyland – Naughts + Rolly + Billy Bob Dirty F*king Dancing – Gillie + Adam Turner + DSKO + Kir + Modal + Timo + Corney

LAUNCESTON

CDS & CLOTHES - 7/9/ SMITH STREET SMITHTON PH. 03 64521393 - WWW.LIZZYSTHISNTHAT.COM

Syrup John Course + Discotouch + Adam Turner + Timo

Republic Bar & Café Joma Byron + Rosie Burgess @ 9PM

Backspace Theatre The Pharmacist @ 8PM

Lizzy's This ‘n’ That

Republic Bar & Café The Casanovas Supp. The Evening Dolls @ 10PM

Republic Bar & Café Cosmic Psychos + Celibate Rifles + The Roobs

WEDNESDAY 4TH BURNIE

available July 3rd

Mayfair Tavern Rosie Burgess

Lark Distillery Rosie Burgess

HOBART

Stage Door the Café Lynch @ 7:30PM

$

HOBART

FRIDAY 29TH BURNIE

SATURDAY 30TH BURNIE

Pizza & Beer

Stage Door the Café Segway @ 2PM Adrian Cunningham Jazztet @ 5:00PM

Stage Door the Café Gideon Brazil @ 7:30PM

Royal Oak David Adams & Friends

GUNNERS ARMS

JULY SUNDAY 1ST BURNIE

Royal Oak Invisible Boy

DEVONPORT A Great Sounding, Five Octave Keyboard

Arts Alive The Viva Computer Social Union + Palm This + Shock Corridor + Yuri & The Vostok

The Loft Jazz/Lounge – Guest DJs

Stage Door the Café Viktor Zappner Swingtet + Doug Sheehan @ 8:00PM

BEWARE! There are some dreadful instruments available over the Internet & from some local stores. Always deal with a reputable music-specialist store!

LAUNCESTON

Royal Oak Idle Hands

THURSDAY 28TH BURNIE

YAMAHA PSRE203

Curly’s Bar Enola Fall (CD Launch) + Beatrix Bae Bouwman + Jamin + Amy Kendall

Trout Defiled (Japan) + M.S.I + Corpse Carving + Mephistopheles

Saloon Uni Night - Live Band + DJ playing commercial music @ 9.30PM

BARRATTS

The Loft Unofficial Kid Kenobi Pre Party @ 8PM Wilderness Society Benefit @ 9PM

James Hotel Sojourn + Leigh Ratcliffe + Cruel Like That + DJ Randall

Royal Oak Open Mic Night

AT

HOBART

Syrup Adam Turner + Scott Woodhouse + Dave Webber

Irish Murphy’s THE DEAD ABIGAILS – LAST GIG EVER

QUALITY ISN’T EXPENSIVE

Trout Metal Vs Punk - Stand Defiant + The Restless Words (WA) + BumTuck + Transfixion + Roadkill

Stage Door the Café King Konga + Harry Springford –Williams @ 5:00PM

HOBART

Raincheck Lounge Live Acoustic Music Republic Bar & Café Mick Hart @ 9PM

BURNIE Sirocco’s 69 Mount St. Burnie 6431 3133 Stage Door The Cafe 254 Mount St Upper Burnie 64322600

TUESDAY 10TH BURNIE

HOBART

HOBART

Raincheck Lounge 392-394 Elizabeth Street 6234 5975

Stage Door the Café Blues Point Jazz Singers @ 8:00PM Republic Bar & Café Dave Calandra @ 9PM

WEDNESDAY 11TH HOBART Curly’s Bar Dr Fink

Republic Bar & Café P.D. Hale & Band @ 9PM Syrup Adam Turner + Scott Woodhouse + Dave Webber The Loft Jazz/Lounge – Guest DJs

LAUNCESTON

Saloon Uni Night - Live Band + DJ playing commercial music @ 9.30PM

Curly’s Bar 112 Murray St 6234 5112 www.curlysbar.com.au

Republic Bar 299 Elizabeth Street 6234 6954 www.republicbar.com The Loft 142 Liverpool Street 6231 6552 myspace.com/theloft142 Syrup 1st Floor 39 Salamanca Place 6224 8249 Trout 381 Elizabeth Street 6236 9777

LAUNCESTON Gunners Arms Bar & Bistro 23 Lawrence St Launceston 6331 3891 James Hotel Reality Niteclub / James Bar 122 York St Launceston 6334 7231 www.jameshotel.com.au River view Hotel 43 Charles Street 6331 4857 Royal On George 90 George Street 6331 2526 The Royal Oak 14 Brisbane St Launceston 6331 5346 Saloon 191 Charles Street Launceston www.saloon.com.au 6331 7355

JUNIOR SENIOR Hey Hey My My Yo Yo 5/10 Remember that irritatingly catchy song from back in 2003, Move Your Feet? Or perhaps that other annoying song, Rhythm Bandits? Well, our favourite Danish dance duo Junior Senior are back with their latest release Hey Hey My My Yo Yo. The first track on the album does just as its name states – it says Hello. It is basically forty seconds of welcoming you to their new record and has the word “hello” repeated about twenty times. This track then leads straight into the next Hip Hop a Lula. This one is a mixture of hip-hop, dance and pop and makes for interesting listening.

We R the Handclaps is totally absurd. The song itself is catchy enough – it’s just some of the lyrics are a little bizarre.

And who would want to be a hand clap?

For me, the best track on the album is Like Music (W.O.S.B).

(I later realised that the W.O.S.B stands for “Working On Something Better”). The instrumental work stands out, and is one song that displays Junior Senior’s ability to produce a good song that doesn’t make you want to break the CD into a thousand pieces. The beginning of Ur a Girl sounded like something you would expect to hear on a Beach Boys album.

It later gets back into true Junior Senior style.

The band is very animated, and their music is probably best suited to the younger generation, as it is quite unusual.

SHANNON STEVENS

TORI AMOS American Doll Posse

5/10 American Doll Posse is the latest release from America’s Tori Amos. Now this is a valuefor-money album, coming in with a track list of twenty-three songs. Such a large track list could be due to the fact that some of the songs are quite short – under one minute – while others just crack the one minute mark.

Big Wheel has a real “country” feeling to it. The lyrics strengthen this idea, as the song is about “Drinkin’ down your pain and whisky”. It is a decent song, until you get to the part that counts from eight down to three with Tori singing “Gimme 8” followed by eight drum beats (this continues until she finally reaches three).

Dark Side of the Sun really shows Tori’s vocal abilities, with many pitch changes throughout the song. It is one of the more refined tracks on the album.

On the other side of the scales is Teenage Hustling. Her voice squeaks in some parts, and it also sounds as though she could be singing in another language in the chorus (it isn’t just her pronunciation of the words).

With so many songs on American Doll Posse, there should be something on here for most tastes. Overall, the album is a decent release from an artist who has been in the business for a long time.

SHANNON STEVENS

DIGITALISM Idealism 7/10 The German duo Digitalism have finally released their long awaited album Idealism.

Being their third release, this tight act has been working on a massive global level.

Their sound has similar characteristics to Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers. With more of an electro rock genre feel towards their production, they pretty much perform as a band live, with drummers and vocalists to give their gigs a big hype.

Known for feeding synths through guitar FX pedals, their album certainly has great crunching bass lines and funky hooks that seem to have a definitely distinctive sound of their own. Their most popular song that has been remixed by many and featured on a few mix CDs, is their popular Zdarlight – a fat, chunky tune with a killer guitar riff spinning throughout the track.

I could only imagine what a rocking gig it would be to see these guys live – known for their mad equipment setups and incorporated performers, it would be one not to miss!

Overall the CD has some great qualities and some poor qualities. With such a variance of songs there’s a little bit of something for anyone – rock elements, dance music elements, and some well produced tracks.

PATRICK DUKE

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE Traffic and Weather 7/10

Can you remember back to 2003 when everyone was obsessed with that song Stacy’s Mom? (Or, more to the point, they were obsessed with the film clip due to Rachael Hunter prancing around in a bikini?) Well, that band is back, bigger and better, with a new album Traffic and Weather.

A few of the songs (’92 Subaru in particular) sound like an American version of Paul Kelly; the only differences being that Fountains of Wayne manage to get a much edgier sound.

The title track on the album is one of my favourites – the strong drum beat stands out, and also Jody Porter’s backing vocals work well on this song.

Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim is an (how to put it?) unusual song. It is a tad too slow, and comes across as being slightly boring. It almost wants to make you start swaying along with the music until you begin to feel sick. (If the swaying backwards and forwards doesn’t make you ill, then the extremely corny lyrics will). Another of the catchy songs, Yolanda Hayes, sounds much like the older style of Fountains of Wayne, and sounds as though it is off a previous release.

Traffic and Weather is a fairly good release from a band who is trying to get back out in the music scene after a four-year hiatus. The stand-out tracks on the album really do prove that Fountains of Wayne still have it!

SHANNON STEVENS

MEGADETH United Abominations

7/10 It was hard for me to approach this record fairly.

In my head, I couldn’t help seeing a bleary-eyed Dave Mustaine blubbering to Lars Ulrich about his feelings in the Metallica documentary Some Kind Of Monster. Could this man still be capable of releasing a strong metal album, when he’s clearly had his fair share of problems to deal with over the years? United Abominations, the latest offering, says “yes” – loudly. At time of writing, this is already more successful than the two previous albums, and the rabid reaction of fans worldwide is, in my mind, well-deserved.

Opener Sleepwalker is lovingly old-school – meaty, vintage thrash. Play For Blood just shows off its ambitious production with an opening solo that bounces between the left and right channels five times … per second.

There’s a lot of anti-war sentiment on display here – ironic, since old-school thrash is apparently very popular with American tank crews in Iraq. I wouldn’t want to be in their way when they’re listening to this. Last I heard, Megadeth still held the Guinness World Record for the loudest live show in human history, so it goes without saying that United Abominations should best be enjoyed at a volume louder than a jumbo jet landing on your head. Crank it up, and enjoy.

TOM WILSON

SINEAD O’CONNOR Theology

3/10 Sinead O’Connor has had over twenty-five years in the music industry, and is a Grammywinning artist. Her music is much more suited to the older generation of music lovers, as the majority of it has a rather slow tempo. In other words, my parents loved it, whereas I was not too keen …

The main focus of Sinead’s music is her vocals, as the music is quite soft, and does not overpower her voice in any of the songs. We People Who Are Darker than Blue is a somewhat creepy song. The music is very quiet, and the vocal work is really eerie, due to the way she whispers the elongated lyrics. It would almost give you nightmares! Out of the Depths sounded like something that you would hear being played in the background of a medieval movie – you just expect to see a few sword fights when you hear it…

The CD is a two-disc set – the first being The Dublin Sessions, which are the more relaxed versions, and then there is also The London Sessions which have a slightly heavier sound.

Both CDs contain practically the same songs, with just one or two different tracks on each. I would assume that this album would not appeal to too many younger music lovers, due to its painfully slow tempo. For the older listeners, this could be a good album. But for me, it was very average.

... it’s an impressive effort for a commercial, New York hip-hop release; it has intelligent lyrics and tight beats ... 8/10 DJ K-NOTE

HELLYEAH

Dutty Bass

Hellyeah

7/10

5/10

Since 1958 VP records has been known as one of the leading marketers and distributors of Caribbean cultural products, which includes music, flicks, cloths and concert productions. Yet, thanks to Central Station’s label Hardwax, these guys have teamed up to hook up Australia with reggae tunes.

Dutty Bass Volume 1, announced as a mix up of dancehall reggae vibes, sure has a very clubby vibe, with a mega thirty-six-track mix up. K-Note, now living in Sydney, has been playing regularly around the world – his mixes regularly getting played on The Edge (96.1 FM) promoting one of the most popular reggae nights, “Make It Clap”. Whilst having supported 50 Cent, Sean Paul and Shaggy, he is very well known and respected.

Featuring mega big names such as Elephant Man, Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Sasha and many more, its very energetic, bum-grinding tracks certainly offer that perfect main room club vibe. Now, being a DJ that loves electro, house and breaks, it’s obviously not my flavour, yet it definitely seems to have a great vibe about it. Plus, with a blistering thirty-six tracks, the mix never gets boring; the songs change every one/two minutes.

Look – it’s not my thing, yet for a reggae mix it’s got a good feeling and sound throughout the CD. Lots of big songs are included that you hear in many RNB-based clubs. If it’s your flavour, check it.

MIMS Music Is My Savior

8/10 Honestly, after hearing his This Is Why I’m Hot single, I almost didn’t even pick this CD up, but I thought I’d give it a go anyway, and I’m actually glad that I did. Mims is a New York rapper with a flow reminiscent of Jay-Z, a voice similar to NZ rapper Con-Psy (Frontline), and the lyrical content is pretty decent too, which was surprising after such an appalling first single.

As well as Mims being his last name, it also stands for Music Is My Savior, the title of this release, which I thought was quite clever. I feel that this album has the witty, lyrical value of Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come album and the instrumental quality of Xzibit’s Restless album. With almost ten million views to date on his Myspace page, it’s good to see that the public are actually choosing a commercial artist with realness and meaning to his lyrics for a change, as opposed to an artist with great beats but no substance to their lyrics.

Something else that puts this album in a different basket to the others is that, apart from a verse from Bun B on They Don’t Wanna Play, it has no notable collaborations with wellknown artists, so it doesn’t have that gimmick value of having a Kanye or The Game guest spot to boost sales.

All in all, it’s an impressive effort for a commercial, New York hip-hop release; it has intelligent lyrics and tight beats, so it’s worth a listen for sure.

Two-and-a-half years after his brother was murdered on stage in front of him, drummer for the legendary Pantera, Vinnie Paul Abbott, has returned to the fold, adding his percussive might to the metal world’s equivalent of a super group.

With Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett of math metal monsters Mudvayne on vocals and guitar, Damageplan’s Bob Zilla on bass duties and Nothingface’s Tom Maxwell as backing sixstringer, Hellyeah is a project that, on paper, seems to all but promise to be 2007’s best new metal band.

Why, then, does this self-titled debut only suggest what this band should be capable of, rather than fully deliver it? Wearing its hard-drinking, southern background like a Confederate flag on the bumper of a pickup truck – sporting song titles like Alcohaulin’ Ass and Goddamn – Hellyeah’s debut seems to have its sights firmly set on headbangers who are easily pleased. The production standards are great, and Vinnie Paul’s drumming has lost none of its meat-andpotatoes, but the input from the rest of the band just doesn’t add up to anything extraordinary. In Mudvayne, vocalist Gray is a haunting presence – capable of both hypnotic intonation and throat-shredding harshness. Here, the intonations are gone – sounds like he’s just barking, and he can do a lot better than this. The days of Pantera have long since passed, which will be unfortunate for any fans who’ll flock to this release to feel at least part of the magic continuing through Vinnie Paul’s work. Hopefully this, like Velvet Revolver’s debut, is the sound of Hellyeah finding their feet.

TOM WILSON

PATRICK DUKE

SHANNON STEVENS

RYAN FARRINGTON PAGE 18

MIMS - Music Is My Saviour

Simian Mobile Disco Attack Decay Sustain Release

7.5/10 The English boys James Ford and James Shaw – known as Simian Mobile Disco – have released their brand new and cleverly named Attack Decay Sustain Release. As featured as Triple J’s album of the week not too long ago, you would have easily heard these tracks getting played around quite a bit. Producing and remixing since the early 90s, they certainly have placed a watermark in the electronic music industry.

Attack Decay Sustain Release is a ten-track album consisting of many twisted blips; very electro-fused, with all types of explicit lyrics. The album starts off with a very grinding, dark bass line with popping synths, deriving a more aggressive interpretation of their Sleep Deprivation.

A favourite of mine that stands out would have to be Hustler, a classic electro break with Miss Johnson expressing her brute force with a kick ass concoction of synths, making for a unique track. The most thrashed track that everyone’s definitely heard would be It’s the Beat. At first it seems irritating as hell, with this high-pitched, over-used squeal, although there was a single released with some unique remixes.

I’ve enjoyed this CD, and you’re just going to have to check it out to give it your own verdict.

PATRICK DUKE

Brett Dennen So Much More 6/10 Brett Dennen is a currently little-known singer-songwriter about to break into the music scene – due to his unique style, I expect he’ll do that with a bang. I can best describe him as a contemporary folk/ pop singer – he has such a unique voice, sounding like no other artist currently in the industry; almost “raspy” …

Ain’t No Reason is the first track off the album, and it sounds very familiar for some reason (If you watch Grey’s Anatomy, that is why). It begins with Brett’s guitar and his voice, making this song sound rather emotional.

With most albums these days, there is always at least one weak link, and the weak link in this album is definitely Because You’re a Woman. It seems as though only half as much effort was put into this track, compared to the rest of them. His voice sounds like it is straining in some parts throughout this song.

The One Who Loves You the Most has an almost bohemian sound to it at the beginning of the track. It does not quite fit in until the chorus starts. It does manage to improve just a little bit.

There are a few outstanding songs on So Much More, but the majority of the tracks are only average. But, due to his intriguing vocal work, it is not too bad of a buy.

SHANNON STEVENS

S L I NKEE M I N X

Talent First, Sex Second

ROCK SALT

By Tom Wilson

Girls want to be them. Men want to be with them. Rash generalisations about the desires of our readers aside, it goes without saying that, in the realm of dance music – the soundtrack to club fun – the only thing more alluring than talent is when it’s coupled with an attractive image. Enter Annemarie, Michelle and Belinda. You can call them Slinkee Minx. Days before the release of their new single Way Of Life, they spoke to me about capitalising on your assets in a world where sex sells …

You’ve got a new single coming out on Saturday [Way Of Life] – what can you tell me about the sound of this track?

I guess it’s very uplifting. It’s a dance track; it’s got good beats … The feedback we’ve got from everybody so far is that it’s got a really good hook to it, so we’re really happy with how it’s come out.

Having worked with Mr. Timothy on this track, it’s been a real buzz for us. He’s a fantastic guy. He really knows his thing. So it’s come out really well.

How did the three of you start working together?

We’ve all been friends for a long time, and we’ve all been doing our own thing prior to Slinkee Minx; we were all pursuing a singing career, and used to dance and all that sort of thing.

One day we decided to join forces and put a group together, which is Slinkee Minx, and seven years on, here we are!

I’m looking at both the girls, and thinking, “I can’t think of anything!” [Laughs] Lies, lies! There’s got to be something!

Annemarie: We talk too much? Belinda’s …

Michelle: … Just annoying in general! [Laughs] No …

Michelle: Usually what happens is … sometimes it comes with a melody first – one of us might just be humming something and think, “that could work”, and next thing it develops into a full-blown melody.

So what kind of stage show do you guys have? Is it you and a DJ? It just depends, really. Mostly it’s us and our backing track, and we sing live, and we dance as well; it’s all choreographed.

So we think we put on a pretty energetic and exciting show.

Other times it might be something that you dream – you literally wake up and think, “Oh, quick, get the Dictaphone and sing that into there.” Other times it’s just words that just come. Again, if we’re working with a producer who’s specifically written some music, they’ll give that to us, and we’ll listen to it, and start coming up with a whole lot of melody ideas. So there’s no particular order for us.

What kind of songwriting process do you guys have?

What usually comes first?

I noticed when I was looking at your dates that, for touring artists, you guys don’t play shows as frequently

as, say, bands that go on tour and play every night or every second night. Why is this?

I guess we’re a specialist act, so you’d really only see us as a special guest act. We don’t have a regular residency – we’re not DJs – so, in that respect, there’s really no need for us to do a gig every day. And also, we’ve been quite busy in the studio – we’re constantly writing and recording. We’ve been working on a few other side-projects with a number of producers, both here and internationally, so, for us, there’s really no need to get out there every day. We are a special act.

To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au www.slinkeeminx.com

We also have got the blessed gift of having nice genes and nice looks, so why not use it to our advantage?

Now … it’s stating the obvious, with lines like “catchy hooks and killer looks” used to describe you guys – the three of you are all very attractive women.

[Laughs] Thank you!

One thing I noticed is that, with dance music groups, good looks always seem to come into it, whereas in a genre like rock music, the ugliest guy on the planet could become a musical superhero. Are looks a factor that is considered really important?

It’s definitely part of our marketing, but it’s part of being in the music industry, I guess. Yes, a lot of it is about talent, but there also is a portion that is about the look. And you’ve got to have a particular look to stand apart from the next act. So looks definitely do play a part in being an artist, for sure. It’s also about marketing, too; the package of what Slinkee Minx is; not only are we singers, songwriters, and can dance, we also have got the blessed gift of having nice genes and nice looks, so why not use it to our advantage? [Laughs] I’ll just take an opportunity to get some dirt – what are the annoying habits of the three of you? [Laughs] Annoying habits … [Laughs] I’m not sure! I guess each of us … depending on what day of the week it is, it can vary.

PAGE 19

Z ERO DEGRE E S F R E E D O M

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait HARD BOILED

By Tom Wilson

It’s been a long time coming … and it’s still not here yet. But metal heads, take heart – the first full-length album from Tasmania’s dark forces of melodic death, Zero Degrees Freedom, is mere weeks away. In the lead-up to their upcoming show at Launceston’s Saloon with Nosce Teipsum and M.S.I, I spoke to front-man Simon Frech about new guitarist Andrew Serisier and what makes a truly great metal performance.

What can you tell me about the new album?

What sets it apart musically from your previous works?

Well, I guess the big thing that sets it apart is that we still haven’t started recording yet! It’s been a steady stream of setbacks, really … from relationship breakups, lineup changes, broken bones and, recently, the computer we used to record on dying, though I’ve literally just now managed to put the beast back together, and I’m reinstalling Windows and stuff this very moment. On top of that, of course, I spent a lot of time in the first half of this year engineering the Nosce Teipsum EP (Wonders of the Invisible World) … So yeah, lots of diversions happening … but it’s all coming together.

That said, I’ve been working really closely with Linton on the drum parts over the past few months; as often as five times a week – really working on the timing, and the feel of the songs … so when we do get the ball rolling (it’s a matter of weeks now, seriously) it’s going to be an all-crushing steamroller of a thing.

… When we do get the ball rolling … it’s going to be an all-crushing steamroller …

crappiest front man in all of metal-dom really … because when we play gigs, I don’t treat it much differently than when we are just practicing – I just get into the music and go with it.

I was planning on avoiding having both ZDF and Nosce play this gig, because it means I have to watch my drinking a bit, which, given the gig is sort of unofficially doubling as my birthday bash (it’s on the 15th), could be interesting.

M.S.I will be playing their first Launceston show in almost two years. Why has it been so long since they were last here?

Well, there haven’t really been that many full-on metal gigs in Launceston in the last year or so, so the opportunities for M.S.I to play up here have been a tad limited in that regard, I suppose. Although I hadn’t even realised it had been that long since they were up here, because I’ve seen them several times in the last year alone at shows in Hobart and Sydney, and it just didn’t click until Chalky pointed it out that they hadn’t played in Launceston for that long.

I believe this will be Andrew Serisier’s first gig with ZDF. How has his input affected the sound of the band? How does it compare to your time with Will?

We’ve been concentrating on getting Andrew up to speed with the existing material so far, though the differences in how he is approaching some of the songs will be immediately apparent. I don’t really want to compare the two as guitarists, because it really is a case of apples and oranges, their playing styles are that different … but I will say that we’ve adapted the arrangements of a lot of our songs to incorporate Andy’s playing. I think a lot of people are going to be quite surprised when they hear some of the songs, actually. We’ve done lots of … strange and unnatural things to some of them.

Unlike some of the previous gigs you’ve organised, which have featured metalcore acts, the two bands supporting you are both extreme metal. To what extent was this a conscious decision?

Actually, ZDF were the afterthought to this gig. I wanted to put together a really heavy, brutal lineup … MSI and Nosce were obviously choices there … and the truth is that all of the other bands I approached to do this gig flaked out on me (I actually tried about three interstate bands and two locals) so I figured it was a good excuse to bring ZDF out of hibernation.

What were you listening to when writing the new album? And where do you think those influences might show through in your new material?

You would really need a whole page if I was going to list all the stuff that we’ve been listening to throughout the writing process for this album. As much as the previous efforts were fairly diverse in terms of metal … this one is going to really confuse some people. We’ve taken inspiration from black,

death, grind, melodic and prog metal to create something that, at times, blends these influences, and, at others, sets them against each other.

What new material will you be unveiling at this gig?

What old tracks have had to be culled to make room, and why did you choose them?

I’d have to check, but I’m pretty sure we are almost going to be playing the entire album at this gig. There is probably a song or two that isn’t being played, though we’ve put a lot of time into rearranging the older material to suit Serisier, so a few of the older songs will sound quite new also.

When are you planning on pulling your finger out and doing that long-overdue cover of Meshuggah’s Future Breed Machine? I’ve been hassling you for months about this, you bastard.

Ah, yeah … I’m working on it. It’s all about the logistics of tuning … almost all of the ZDF songs are in boring, old, not-very-metal “e” tuning, so we’d all need to piss about with our guitars to do that song justice … besides which, I’ve been busy.

Zero Degrees Freedom play the Launceston Saloon on the 13th of July with Nosce Teipsum and M.S.I. Be sure to buy the birthday boy a drink.

This album will mark an important transition, as all of the songs on it will have been written by ZDF as a band, not me as a solo thing … so there is three year’s worth of musical growth being chopped down to a forty-five-minute CD. Another interesting point is that both Andrew Serisier (the “new” guitarist) and Will (the “old” guitarist) are going to be playing on the CD … so it sort of marks the transition between the old and new lineup as well. Musically, the songs cover a lot of ground.

What have been some of the best live shows you’ve seen, and what made them so notable?

Well, Behemoth in Sydney were awesome, if only because the band were all doing synchronised windmills … even the drummer! Of course, I was also really drunk at the time, so the effect made me quite nauseous. Seriously though, Nevermore (also in Sydney) last year were amazing, in my opinion – not because of the gimmicky side of things, but because they were so bloody tight, technical and precise … yet still put so much feeling into the songs, that I couldn’t help but be impressed.

How did seeing these bands affect the way you approach your own live performing?

It didn’t really. My complete lack of hair makes for a fairly poor windmill. [Laughs] But seriously, every band I see play – be it Nevermore or a local rock band like The Voyeurs – I’ll pick out things that I think work well, or just as importantly things that don’t work, and, even if only subconsciously, incorporate it into what we do to a degree. I’m probably the

STI L L REMA I N S

HARD BOILED

Autographs Humble The Mighty

By Tom Wilson In the lead-up to the August release of their second album The Serpent, Still Remains guitarist/singer Mike Church spoke to me from the offices of Roadrunner UK about the band’s intentions with the new album, and how it still humbles them when fans ask him for an autograph.

Making a good second album is always a very tricky thing, with the pressure to live up to the debut. Some really good examples of when it has worked have been Nevermind or Deftones’ Around The Fur. To what extent did you guys feel that kind of pressure on you when you were making this record?

The way we went into writing this was just … honesty.

That was our main thing. We wanted to take our individual personalities and make them shine on this album … our influences as well. We all have different influences, and we really wanted to not have any barriers as far as songwriting influences on this album. That’s why there’s thrash, there’s metal, there’s hard rock … Dancing With The Enemy is almost a pop-y song – the pop-iest song that Still Remains has ever come out with. We just wanted to open up our hearts, and whatever came out, we were going to try and make an album with it. So it was kind of easy in that regard not to put restrictions on things. So the songs just poured out, and we’re really proud of everything.

We don’t have big heads. We don’t have egos. And we try to keep it that way …

You were talking about influences … what were the first artists that, when you heard them, inspired you to be a musician?

Jeez … I would say the band Tool. I kind of originally wanted to be a drummer … I don’t know what happened to that! But I picked up a guitar … I did choirs and stuff in grade school PAGE 20

and high school; even musicals and stuff. I always loved to sing. So it was kind of a given. Tool, Metallica … one of my favourite singers is, believe it or not, Tori Amos. She was a big influence on me; the dynamics in her voice.

What’s your favourite rock move as a guitarist?

Oh jeez … I like putting my leg up on the monitor … I don’t really have a favourite, but as long as we’re getting into the music, we’re happy.

so excited. It’s never like, “yeah, I knew we were going to sell this out,” you know? We don’t have big heads. We don’t have egos. And we try to keep it that way, no matter how our success goes.

We’ve played some really big shows, and we’ve been in some really amazing situations, and we feel lucky for that. We feel that hard work can get us there no matter what, and to sign an autograph to a fan … we just feel like they’re friends; we don’t feel like they’re fans. I mean, that sounds cheesy, but What goes through your head when someone asks you I’m just being honest! [Laughs] for an autograph?

For one, I feel humbled by it. We all do. I mean, we’ve signed ONLINE: We talk about what makes an awesome music thousands of autographs, but I never sign an autograph and video, hanging out with The Deftones, and the first time think [that] this kid or this fan thinks I’m cool. I always just he kissed a girl. Trust me, that story is priceless. To sign it … like … [because] it makes them happy. It makes listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au me happy. We try and be humble in any situation we get into. I mean, we play a club that’s sold out, and we’re just The Serpent comes out August 7th.

PKC

CHRIS CART ER

Harmony Key To Flow

BANGERS & MASH

By Tom Wilson

The name is PKC. The sound … well, anyone who frequents Syrup should already be well aware of the kinds of noises this Hobart DJ likes to make. I fired off some questions to find out a bit more about the man behind the acronym.

What does PKC stand for?

My initials; Paul Keith Cummins. I know, so very original!

How did you first get into electronic music?

The remix of the beautiful Barber’s Adagio for Strings just blew me away, so I figured I’d check out what this “trance” music was all about. That, and Metallica’s St. Anger album was so very terrible I thought a genrechange was in order.

What production work have you done?

Very, very little! I have a lot of expensive software I have no idea how to use. It’s still a plan for the future though.

What do you think are the most important elements of a DJ set, regardless of its genre?

Track selection! Good mixing is great, but it’s pretty pointless if you’re playing ordinary tunes. When I go out to see a DJ, I just want to hear music I like.

Having said that though, seeing Armin van Buren earlier this month … it was crazy listening to how tight his mixing was.

curlies currently – doesn’t hurt that a lot of our best DJs are playing those genres.

What is it that you think (or hope) sets you apart from other local DJs? Well, I’m pretty anal about harmonic mixing (mixing in compatible keys) and hopefully that makes my sets flow nicely.

I’d also like to think my taste in emotional dance music is pretty good. You’d have to ask the punters about that, though!

What do you do outside of DJing?

Like everybody else, I toil in the 9-5 gloom, but in my spare time I’m a glutton for good music, good television, a good PC game or killing best friends in silly buck’s day riding accidents (don’t ask).

Where do you normally play?

Syrup Nightclub – next gig Friday 29th June. Come one, come all! The bill is filled with Hobart’s trance DJs, which is a nice change! There should be something in there for everyone.

What are your plans for the rest of the year, musically and otherwise?

Get into production, but when that’ll happen is anybody’s guess! Somehow manage to buy a CD deck or two.

And achieve both those goals without defaulting on the mortgage.

PKC plays Syrup in Hobart on the 29th of June.

Musician, producer and DJ Chris Carter learnt his engineering skills whilst at the legendary On U Sound, working with the likes of Adrian Sherwood, Little Axe, Asian Dub Foundation, Audio Active and Bim Sherman.

Since starting to release his own productions in 1997, he has had a steady stream of releases on a number of UK-based breaks labels including TCR, Botchit + Scarper, Forged, En:Vision, Secret Agent, Track, and his own Record Records amongst others, earning him a reputation as a master of well-crafted left-of-centre dance floor tunes.

Remix work includes tracks for Forged, Botchit, Cup of Chi, En:Vision, Passenger, and most recently as Roxiller on Sober, Functional and Broke Records.

What styles do you dabble in?

I’m a glutton for good music, good television, a good PC game or killing best friends in silly buck’s day riding accidents (don’t ask)

In 2005 he co-established the Record Records (REC) label, intended as an outlet for his own material, as well as Roxiller – his joint studio project with JHz – and other future collaborations.

Current commitments also include membership of Rennie Pilgrem’s TCR All Stars in which he plays guitar. Work is also underway on some new material with Fine Cut Bodies, Carbon Community and BLIM. Chris has established himself as a popular DJ and has toured all over Europe as well as the USA, Asia and Australia. His mixes have been aired on radio stations such as Radio1, Kiss, Ministry, Groovetech and stations across Europe.

Uplifting, melodic trance, and a bit of hard trance. It’s the pop music of the electronic dance world (and frowned upon as such!), but I’m just a sucker for beautiful melodies I guess.

What trends have you seen amongst Hobart’s clubgoers? What genres are dominating, in terms of popularity?

House and/or electro seem to have Hobart by the short and

Chris Carter plays Hobart’s Halo on the 6th of July.

PKC & BEXTA

W I L L .c o

Love Sets Him Apart

BANGERS & MASH

By Tom Wilson

Have you ever found yourself in Syrup, staring across the room at the man in the DJ booth, wondering, “Wow, I’d really like to know that guy’s story”? Well, if the guy you were looking at is the guy in this photo, you’re in luck (and if it isn’t, just read it anyway). I spoke to WILL.co (AKA Ben) about the evolution of his style, the one song he absolutely can’t stand, and why some DJs just have their head up their arse …

How long do you reckon it took before you considered yourself “good”, from when you first started playing around with DJing?

Well, it probably took me a good solid year of playing in my bedroom first thing in the morning, and before I got to bed at night, until I could get my beat-matching and all that sort of thing, and start learning how to drop, and get the right ear for it. And it probably took me about two years before I was really, really confident, and could jump up, and was quite happy to play whenever, wherever – that kind of thing.

What kind of styles do you dabble in?

I like trance … a lot of house … little bit of breaks, and I do like the electro as well. If it’s hard and fat, I really like it, and I do like a lot of the electronic trance side of things – pretty eclectic and uplifting tunes.

You are a regular at Syrup, I understand.

Yep – have been for years.

Argh … Eiffel fucking 65!

Yeah! Look, I don’t know what it was, but it’s just one of those tracks that, when it’s played, it just reminds me of bogan techno, and I can’t stand it; it just reminds me of bogans on speed with techno in their Holden … hotted-up fucking V8s! I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t stand it!

cling onto it, and it becomes such a big thing that they don’t want to share it with anybody, and so they become very singular people. That’s why I don’t see a lot of DJs dancing, because it’s a crowd thing – you’ve got to be out there, and you’ve got to relax a little bit, whereas DJs always seem to be cool and up near the DJ box. I’ve never been like that – I’ve always been a dance crowd person. I’ve just always enjoyed getting the crowd involved, and that’s what I enjoy.

Fucking awesome! Lastly, we all remember that Sonicanimation once sang “I’m a DJ / My head is up my ass”. Why would they say that DJs have their heads up their asses? And why do you think you’re different?

Well, look, definitely … I try to get a lot of people involved in music throughout my career. I’ve got a lot of people who have been friends, and people that I’ve met along the way, that I actually get up there – getting them gigs along the way, and helping them … playing alongside me while I’m playing. I believe that music should be shared, and I think a lot of DJs get up there and realise that they’ve got a lot of power over people, and that becomes a big thing in their life … they just

One of my favourite lyrics from that [song] was, “If the record’s not from Germany, then it must be shit.” To what extent would you agree that German music isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

Well look, I like a lot of Dutch trance; my favourite DJ is Tiesto, I’ve got to say. I do really like finely produced records and sounds. But at the same time, I think that Australia in itself … we’re a little bit behind the UK scene; it takes a little bit of time to get here … that’s just how the world works.

But at the same time, we’ve got a lot of good sounds; you’ve only got to look at some of the hip-hop sounds that come out of Tassie. Just because it’s not the hard dance doesn’t

Blue. Remember that song? “I’m blue, ba-da-be …”

mean it’s not good – it’s got it’s own genre, and they do really well … Look at Pendulum – they’re fantastic. They’re playing constantly through the UK at the moment – they love them over there … I’m actually going to one of the biggest raves in the world, to Dance Valley in the Netherlands. It’s a national trip to go over there; I’m making it my mission to go to Amsterdam … London and Paris first, and then we’re going to stop over in Amsterdam and go to one of the biggest raves in the world. Carl Cox is running his own tent … fifteen arenas … it’s off the show – sixty to eighty thousand people.

ONLINE: Ben breaks down the genres of dance music to their bare essentials and explains where they’re most suited for.

It’s actually a lot more interesting than it sounds, trust me. To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce. net.au Wilco plays regularly at Syrup in Hobart.

What trends have you seen amongst Hobart’s club goers? What genres are dominating in terms of popularity?

Well, a lot of it’s all electro these days. We had a very big breaks and drum n bass influence, which we still do in Hobart. But a lot of it being played at the moment is house with a big electro flavour through it. And that’s getting a lot of commercial play these days as well. A dance track like Put Your Hands Up For Detroit, and a few others that you would see on Video Smash Hits at some hour of the morning … dance music has been a lot more commercialised. So that electro sound is pretty popular these days – you hear it about.

What is it that you think, or you hope, sets you apart from other local DJs in Hobart? What makes your style unique?

[Long silence … very long silence] Oh, gee … that’s a hard one, isn’t it?

The silence was deafening!

Yeah, it was! I was just trying to think! I suppose just my love for it; just to be able to work with a mixer and the turntables both at the same time. Not just how to tackle a record and mix from track-to-track – I just love to be able to be constantly doing something behind the decks, and [it] never leaving the mind, basically.

We’ve covered the things that you love; let’s go for a different angle. What’s one song you never, ever want to hear again, and why?

PAGE 21

F I REF O X

How To Make Something Pure BANGERS & MASH

By David Williams So what is Pure? Well, we could just feed you a definition straight out of the dictionary, or we could tell you that it’s the latest release from the Vinyl Pusher label, mixed by Boogs and production duo Firefox. I spoke to one half of the duo, Andy, about what it takes to put together something Pure …

What was the most enjoyable part for you of putting together your [contribution] to the CD? I think … well, the boring part is all the business and the politics that goes on before you actually mix the thing. You can’t just say, “I want these tracks”, and you end up getting them; it’s a whole negotiation process with the label and different labels around the world – some of them very elusive and hard to find. And if you want to license their tracks, there’s all sorts of negotiations that have to go on. But the fun part is actually getting into the studio, and getting the tracks up on screen and chopping them up, and editing parts out … doing the mixes – getting everything in key – and getting all the EQs right, and ending up with a nice, tight, seventy-seven minute mix at the end of it all. Having a listen back – that’s the fun part of it. Touring as well; we’re doing quite an extensive tour around the country to promote it as well – getting in the clubs and playing all the tunes and playing to the people is a lot of fun as well!

I bet you’re not coming to Tasmania, though!

Well, there was word that we were, but I don’t think that has been locked-in yet.

Ah …

I do remember seeing some emails about a week ago, asking for some dates. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we do! There’s, like, four or five dates still pending, and I think one of those was in Hobart. I can’t remember what club it was.

Cool. What about listening back to your CD? Have you listened back to it as a “leisure listener” and thought, “Hmm … that’s not too bad!” Or “Jeez, that was a shit bit – I wish I’d re-done that!”

[Laughs] Nah, I haven’t listened to it for quite a few weeks.

You can probably understand that after spending three or four days – eight hours in a row – listening to the same things back and forth, trying to get it exactly right, you’re a bit over it by the time it’s finished!

Yeah, fair enough.

The good thing with time is … you take a few weeks or a few months off it and go back and listen, and it’s like, “Ah … that did sound good” or “the dramas we had to go through getting that in key, or getting that edit sounding right,” or whatever.

So I haven’t listened to it in a while, but I think I will have another bit of a listen in the next couple of weeks!

You’re known for your vocal house style. Do you think that’s a fair reputation?

Um … yeah, it’s probably fair. We sort of move in and out of different circles with our productions as well. We’re probably more on the vocal electro or rock-electro vibe at the moment.

In the past we’ve done quite a bit of vocal house. Darren’s probably more into the vocal house than I am, with his solo stuff. We like to take pride in ourselves as one fan, really.

We move around with different sounds, and that’s why we work under a lot of different names as well … We like to mix it up a bit!

… listening to the same things back and forth, trying to get it exactly right, you’re a bit over it by the time it’s finished!

In the Hobart dance music scene, it seems like the crowds have become more segmented. Instead of dance music fans going along to a party – whether it be a breaks party or a house party – they’re being more selective about it, so you’ll find that there are people who will only go to a trance party, or only go to a breaks party. Are you seeing that segmentation happening in Melbourne as well?

I think that’s always been there, and it sort of got a bit more that way four to five years ago. A lot of the bigger clubs – two, three thousand people clubs – are starting to have trouble, because the bar scene was really kicking in, and also the specialist scene of, like you said, all the different genres of dance music running their own stuff. But it’s actually starting to turn around now, I think, because music is becoming more about having fun, from what I’m seeing, instead of just concentrating on one [genre]. I mean, there are still those nights that go around and are very successful, that run hard house or breaks or drum n bass, but there are a few more of the bigger clubs starting to come back into popularity in Melbourne. Like I said, I think that’s got more to do with the vibe of the people just wanting to have fun, instead of concentrating too much on, “Oh, I’ve got to hear this sound,” or “I’ve got to hear that sound”. House, especially – you’re hearing rock influences; you’re hearing 80s influences; electro influences filtering through.

PI PER & EL R O Y

When DJs Take Matters Into Their Own Hands

BANGERS & MASH

By David Williams

In the music world, there are two main types of record label; ones run by businessmen, and ones run by musos themselves. Flying their flag in the latter camp are Sydney DJ/producers Tom Piper and Adam Elroy. Written on that flag is bambamMuzik – the name of their label, which they started in the first half of this year. But why did they decide to do it? I wanted to find out.

What’s the hardest part about running your own label and pushing other people’s music? What’s the most difficult part about taking a finished product and turning it into a successful record?

Tom: The hardest part is getting remixes off people and getting them in on time! [Laughs]

Everything’s become a lot easier to do now with the digital stuff – you don’t need massive budgets to get stuff happening.

How did you two start working together in the first place?

Tom: Well we met when I was in high school, which was quite a while ago now. I went to school with Adam’s girlfriend, and

You guys started your own label earlier in the year. Why did you feel the need to do that?

Tom: Well, basically, it just gave us control to be able to do what we want with our music. It’s always good to work with other people – we’ve got tracks on other labels and stuff as well, but I suppose it’s good to go and do what we want. I mean, we’ve always planned on sub-signing to other labels, but at least we control exactly what we’re doing. And it’s the same as what a lot of other people have done … they do it all themselves.

Do you feel that you actually do lose some control when you’re doing stuff for other labels?

Tom: Not so much … it’s always good to go and work with someone else as well, because they have a good work setup. Everything’s become a lot easier to do now with the digital stuff – you don’t need massive budgets to get stuff happening. As long as you’re focused on what you’re doing, and you’ve got a business mind, and you know how to make stuff work, you may as well do it yourself.

Adam: It’s funny, because at the end of the day … I signed a

PAGE 22

publishing deal a while back with a major label, and it’s funny seeing how a major … they just go spending all this money.

Sometimes you really don’t need to spend that money, and yet, as an artist, you’re lumped with all the bills. We just thought that we can still put our music out and do it ourselves and have control, and not have to have these ridiculously high budgets.

Tom: On top of that as well, from the success we’ve had so far, that sort of proves that you can do it yourself! [Laughs]

so we became friends, and we kind of met each other out on the Sydney rave scene. We both started working with a DJ called Alex K, who was one of Sydney’s biggest dance producers … Oh, shit! My laptop just fell out of my bag!

[Laughs] Yeah, we started working with him … and then me and Adam started working on music together as well. That was a good five or six years ago, and it’s just sort of come from there.

To listen to the entire interview, go to www.sauce.net. au

TO M COS M

BANGERS & MASH

Unique Input Sets DJ Apart

By Tom Wilson DJs Are Not Rockstars says a t-shirt I’ve spotted at many a gig around the state. Admittedly, for those not into electronic music, it doesn’t look like much for someone to mix two tracks together and keep a dance floor happy. So why should those people care about the dreadlocked kiwi pictured here? He’s a DJ! He doesn’t make his own music, right?

Wrong. He certainly does. Conductor of “an orchestra of ones and zeros”, which he deploys to create original music for every crowd he plays for, he’s also a jewelry craftsman and dreadlock hair-care authority. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a very different kind of DJ …

How would you describe what you do?

I use all kinds of strange toys and machines to make rhythms, sounds and melodies. I then get in front of a dance floor and madly mangle these together in real time into doof doof music while having a lot of fun!

It’s like I have an orchestra in front of me, and I can instantly say when and what I want each instrument to play, except all my musicians are ones and zeros inside my computer.

Musically, what have you been up to in the last month?

I’ve been working hard on promoting myself both here in New Zealand and over there in Australia. I don’t have a manager or a label, so it’s been really interesting seeing how far I can actually get by just getting people to pass word on. It’s great that these days you don’t actually need to sign up to anything to get your name out there; if people want my music all they need is an internet connection (www.cosm.co.nz) or a blank CD. I get the feeling you’re more of a “musician” than a DJ. To what extent is this accurate?

A DJ’s job is to find good tunes that have already been finished in the studio and mix them together in a seamless fashion, whereas I play all original music on the spot, with every element of the track at my control. This means I watch what’s going down on the dancefloor and use what I see to create and layer new sounds into tracks that I think the party people want to hear. For instance if I’m playing some deep progressive trance, but I get the feeling people wanna shake their ass a bit more, I can grab a funkier baseline and chuck it into the tune easily and smoothly. If people start getting down to that, then I know I am on a good thing and start changing all the elements accordingly. It’s all about working up a nice symbiotic energy with the crowd so we are all having a good, fun time.

I understand you give a lot of your music away for free.

Why do you do this?

I know that everyone who listens to my music is doing so because they want to, and that is an awesome feeling. It also means my music comes straight out of my brain into the listener’s without any kind of third party involved. When you start mixing money with creative processes, things start getting distorted in a pretty scary way. I put a lot of thought into what I want my music to portray and how it all fits together, and I want people to latch onto these ideas and

feelings without having any sort of outside influence affecting the music.

To what extent would you agree that the kind of music you make, and how you make it, is affected by giving people free access to it? Do you think you would be making different music if you were on a label?

It does affect my style quite a lot, in the sense that I don’t really have a need to make finished tracks. I have an everevolving archive of sounds, rhythms and melodies which I call my live set, which is the main thing people hear when they get hold of my music. It’s just like one giant canvas of sound, rather than lots of individual tracks mixed up together. I only really mix down tracks when a DJ wants to play them, or if I get enough requests from people.

my mother how to create very little things with very little tools, and I really like the whole spiral stretch earring look, but wanted to make an alternative for people who wanted big spirals in their ears, but weren’t keen on getting their ears stretched.

You’ve said online that you’ll only promote yourself through people and processes that you believe have good hearts, and won’t distort your creations. Without meaning to sound ominous, what makes you think you can trust us?

I’ve done my homework! You guys seem like pretty choice people, just like the dudes who are bringing me over to Tas for their party.

Flattery will get you everywhere, Tom. Awesome first name, by the way. You possess a frankly enviable set of dreadlocks. What tips do you have for those wanting to spread the dread?

Patience! When I first got mine I looked like a gimp – hassled by friends and bribed by my mother (to cut them off). After about two years they needed hardly any maintenance, which was awesome! I don’t think I have really touched mine for about six years now. Don’t be afraid to wash them often either. A homemade shampoo of vinegar and rosemary (Google it) will keep them clean, tight and smelling nice.

Tom Cosm plays Psysessions at Halo on the 27th July.

I can also get as loose as I want if the situation is right (which it often is). Usually around halfway through my sets, people have a good idea of what my music is like and where I am going … this is when I do something completely mad. I’ve got no one standing behind me making sure I’m doing it right … I can play whatever I think people want without having the fear of pissing off someone who has authority over my image.

How did you first get into electronic music?

I started off in the whole happy hardcore rave scene about a decade ago, when my sister took me to my first party and I absolutely loved it. I then started going to more festivals and parties as a teenager and got really hooked on the loving culture. Being a DJ didn’t really interest me – I wanted to find a new way of doing things … and got heavily inspired by watching people like Pitch Black do their thing, which eventually led me to get my first computer and start writing beats, and I’ve never stopped.

What kind of equipment setup do you use to play live?

I use a laptop running Ableton Live 6, which is my main brain.

Here I can throw all my ideas onto a big canvas and layer them together real time. I also use a Novation X-station and a Korg Padkontrol to manipulate the sound once it has been laid down, so I can turn knobs and sliders to change things rather than use my mouse all the time, which can look quite boring!

Interestingly, you also make jewelry to order on your website. How long have you been doing this, and why?

I make hardly any money from my music, so I make jewelry as well to keep me alive. I was taught from a young age by

F EDDE L E GR A N D E

GREG PACK ER

Put Your Hands Up For Detroit

BANGERS & MASH

By Tom Wilson

Currently the most sought-after DJ on the planet, is there really any point introducing you to Fedde Le Grande? Whether it’s from his own productions – such as The Creeps – or what other people do with them – such as D-12 doing a version of Put Your Hands Up For Detroit – it’s fair to say that you can’t turn your head in the dance music world without seeing his work. He spoke to me from Holland about those famed productions, and what it really means to him to win awards.

What’s happening with dance music in Holland?

Is there a “scene” in Holland? Or is it generally a European scene?

No, I think you have a few countries in Europe. Like Germany – they’re really big on minimal stuff. Spain is still quite tribally … actually, it’s a mix between tribal and electronic stuff. And France … they have their own thing. I think it’s the same in Holland – especially at the moment, we have a really good scene. I think it’s never been so big, because at the moment, guys who would be playing hip-hop like last year – or the

last two years – are also playing house now; mostly house.

So it’s kind of weird, but it’s really booming at the moment.

Your latest single here in Australia, The Creeps was, at last check, sitting at number eighteen on the ARIA chart here. How much of a surprise is that to you?

Well it’s still a surprise to me, but I think … because you never know, especially when you make something yourself, it’s really hard to judge it like you’re hearing it for the first time or something, so you’re never really sure about your own productions. It doesn’t matter how many you make –

you’re always a bit insecure about it. So to me, it’s always a surprise, but I think it’s not as big a surprise as it was with Detroit, because The Creeps is more like a song, so … yeah, I can imagine you sing along with it and everything. But Detroit wasn’t really a song, so I was really surprised when that track crossed over actually.

At what stage of producing … or even after you’d finished Put Your Hands Up For Detroit, did you think that you might have a hit on your hands? Was it only when it started charting that you thought, “Oh jeez, this is doing something”?

Ah … yeah. Actually, when I just finished it, I wasn’t really sure if they wanted to release the track, actually. But as soon as me and my label partner started to play it, the next week, all the internet forums were full of “what is this track?” and “where can I get it?” So there was the first point where we thought, “OK, we might have a good dancefloor record here”.

But it’s only when the guys from Ministry called us and said they want to do a video clip that we were like, “OK, this is something more than just a good dancefloor record.”

And D-12 have done a version also. That must have been a bigger surprise – did you have much to do with them?

Um … not really. It kind of went in a really natural way, because the label that signed the Detroit track in America; the label owner knew the management of Eminem, so he just sent the track over there, like, “Oh, check it out – maybe you’ll like it, blah-blah-blah”. They actually really liked it, and I think they worked with it for like a week or so and came up with the vocals, and we mailed it back and forth.

So that’s how the final version came about. But I was really surprised that they kept it so close to the original, because it actually is the original, only with rap vocals on it. I was really, really pleased with it. It’s really special that hip-hop artists like house tracks. [Laughs] I was really surprised.

What was it about the Detroit dance music scene that inspired the track in the first place?

Well I think … as was the case in Holland, when it started to get bigger here, most festivals would be techno-orientated.

And I think in general, the whole Detroit techno scene has been a huge influence on house music in general. So it’s kind of a homage or – how do you say in English? – a big-up to what the whole scene was about … and still is about, even though I don’t play techno. I think the whole scene has been really important.

Greg Packer began DJing in 1989 at the age of seventeen, shortly after emigrating to Perth from Northampton England. He had been a heavy collector of vinyl since 1982, and since he already had a collection of over a thousand, he decided it was time to purchase some decks and get seriously into DJing.

By the end of 1990, he had started playing in clubs, and by ‘91 had won the WA DMC’s Mixing Championships, which then boosted him straight onto the rave/club scene. He continued to play this circuit until 1994, when he took a year away from Perth and returned to the UK, playing at raves/clubs alongside DJs such as Carl Cox , Slipmatt and Seduction for a company called Dance Planet. By 1995 when he returned to Perth, he decided to drop the happy hardcore side of things and concentrate 100% on jungle/ DnB, which were always his first love from the beginning.

In 1999, he decided that he had been DJing for ten years playing other people’s music, and it was time to set up a studio and get into making his own music. By 2001 he had his first official release on Hardleaders, We Hear Drums, and has continued to release music since then on labels such as Good Looking, Renegade, 31 Records, Defunked, Phuturistic Bluez, New identity, Tangent, Fokuz and Interphase.

In 2003/2004, he took another break from Perth and based himself in the UK for awhile. Since returning to Perth in 2004 and up until now, Packer has continued to DJ around Perth and all over the East Coast of Australia on a regular basis.

Greg Packer plays The Loft in Hobart on Saturday the 7th of July.

PAGE 23

“I’ve walked on my hands across deserts of quicksand.

Just so, ______ I can have a beer with you.”

Record and send your own love song at www.gallantryisback.com

Gallantry is back.

Session 1 Best of the Fest: Friday, 13 July at 7:00pm Session 2 Best of the Fest: Saturday, 14 July at 6:00pm Session 3 Sound Kilda, Saturday, 14 July at 7:45pm HOBART STATE CINEMA 375 Elizabeth Street North Hobart Bookings, phone: 07 3137 6000

www.stkildafilmfestival.com.au Presented by

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upcoming GIGS

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28 JUN @ 8:00 PM Sojourn (Melb Rock & Roll) + Supports The Frets & The Overview 29 JUN @ 9:00 PM Andrea Centazzo (USA) Jonah Byron (Melb), Jay Fraser 30 JUN @ 8:00 PM "go play in the traffic Kid" (unofficial) Kid Kenobi Pre Party 30 JUN @ 9:00 P Wilderness Society Benefit 6 JUL @ 9:00 PM The Que, The Badluck Charms, Moe Grizzly, Transcription Of Organ Music 7 JUL @ 9:00 PM Between The Devil & The Deep (NSW) Lungs (NSW) 7 JUL @ 11:45 PM Greg Packer (drum&bass) + supp Outlaw, B-side, Scott Woodhouse 13 JUL @ 8:00 PM C.C.Thornley (Melb) Jazz Banjo Extraodinaire 14 JUL @ 5:00 PM Transfiction, Lacerta and Solar Thorn, 5pm till 9pm. All ages event.

25 JUL @ 8:00 PM "a cup of tea" (unofficial) Breakfastaz Pre-Party 11 AUG @ 8:00 PM Dirty Harry & The Rockets + Supports, Old School Rock & Roll 2 SEP 2007 @ 8:00 PM Tommy Ray (Hip-Hop gig) + Mainland Guests

WEDNESDAY Jazz/Lounge - Guest DJ’s THURSDAY Bump in the Night – Project Weekend + Shammie + guests FRIDAY Electric Boogaloo – Texas + Quality + Pilot SATURDAY Bass Invaders – Carlos + Texas + Pilot + Outlaw

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private FUNCTIONS We cater for any private function. Capacity 600 people, comfortably. Contact venue for more info.

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Enquiries: www.myspace.com/theloft142 or 0416 328 079

Tix available from Ruffcut Records, Centretainment and the venue

TICKETS 33A ELIZABETH ST MALL HOBART ph. 03 6234 8600 email. shop@ruffcut-records.com www.ruffcut-records.com

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11PM 1 1 PM P M START S TA TA R T

HALO

, i n u e n o At y if you hurr you can still get an early start.

If you think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve left your run too late for 2007, think again! Applications for most courses are still available online. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait until next year to start uni â&#x20AC;&#x201C; next semester starts July 16.

Apply online now or contact the Uni Info Centre on 1300 363 864 for more information.

#HOOSE YOUR FUTURE AT WWW

EDU AU APPLY 1580s

Usync.net – connecting fans to the bands

Amazingly, iTunes is downloaded more than one million

Australian based “not so new kids on the block” Usync

iTunes still remain third behind RealPlayer and Windows

have developed quite a unique online personalised sales

Media Player for PC users.

times daily; this amounts to a staggering figure of 500 million active users.

and promotion facility for bands and artists alike.

According to information reported by Digitalmusicnews.

The company can build a band’s backstage area, which

com, iTunes is found in 27.0 percent of PCs worldwide.

fans can gain access to via e-postcards or through the band’s already existing web channels.

Once fans have registered as an online member, they can then access the unique backstage area which offers exclusive merchandise and content, personalised blogs and tickets for live shows.

Denmark 1.8 Belgium 1.7 Sweden 1.7 Switzerland 1.7 Japan 1.5 New Zealand 1.5 Canada 1.5

DIGITAL MUSIC CHARTS

Word press – wins the blogging blitz!

iTunes (Top Songs) 1. Umbrella (Rihanna) 2. Big Boys Don’t Cry (Fergie) 3. The Dance Floor Anthem

Aussie music on YouTube

There are many ways for the independent artist to promote

After the launch of raw Audio.net’s “Australian Music

at the moment is blogging.

themselves online and one of the most talked about methods

Channel”, the concept has already made an impressive impact.

Blogging not only allows bands to interact with their

ARIA (Digital Track Chart) 1. Umbrella (Rihanna) 2. Big Boys Don’t Cry (Fergie) 3. Grace Kelly (Mika)

iTunes (Top Albums) 1. Dream Days at The Hotel Existence (Powderfinger) 2. Ministry of Sound Presents Digital Sounds 2007 (Various Artists) 3. Call Me Irresponsible (The Travelling Wilburys)

established fan base but it also increases their search engine The backstage area is created using a unique online tool which Usync call “channel to your audience”, allowing all Usync clients to freely upload new blogs, musical content and change the look-and-feel of the dedicated backstage area. (www.usync.net)

Show Off Recordings expand – Marketing & Promotions

Organisers are saying that the Australian Music Channel is the place to upload, watch videos and chat about Aussie music online.

In just three weeks, the subscription channel has rated at #19 on all Director Channels and the Australian Music Group is currently sitting at #53 among all YouTube groups.

optimisation.

What are the best blogging sites? And how do they differentiate from each other? Well, we set up a profile on three popular blogging sites, Fasterlouder.com.au, inthemix. com.au and wordpress.org.

(www.youtube.com/group/AustralianMusic) Although each of these sites offer a really effective way to

Britain keeps it real!

running blogs there can only be one winner, Word press!

of independent music, has announced an expansion from

Britain’s music shops were recently given some good news

Word press is amazing and best of all its free! Once you have

its already established digital distribution services.

with industry figures showing British shoppers led the world

signed up to the site you can then select from a number of

in CD purchases in 2006.

pre-designed skins, selecting the one that best suites the

Show Off Recordings, a digital music label and marketer

The Melbourne based label is currently launching their Despite digital downloading making all the headlines,

PR campaigns for artists/labels wanting to break into

UK physical music sales totally led the charge – in fact,

or further expand their profile on the Australian music

Before you start blogging you can select different categories

Britain’s bought an average of 2.7 CDs per person,

market.

according to the Entertainment Retailers Association.

(news, releases etc), so when browsers view the homepage

Show Off Recordings have put together two kinds of PR

For the past four years the UK has been on top of the

campaigns; the first being digital (blogging, EPK design,

world rankings when it comes to “legitimately” purchasing

DMS marketing etc), and the second that combines digital

music.

Apple continue to climb the ladder, after recently disclosing the aggressive iTunes installation figures.

BigPond (Top Selling Albums) 1. Dream Days at The Hotel Existence (Powderfinger) 2. Call Me Irresponsible (The Travelling Wilburys) 3. On A Clear Night (Missy Higgins)

FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS they can select the category that interests them the most.

Word press is extremely user friendly, even if you have never heard of HTML you could set up a profile within minutes.

and traditional PR techniques (radio plugging, media

ITunes – hit 500 million

JB HI-FI (Artist Chart) 1. Robbie Williams 2. Coldplay 3. Eskimo Joe

look-and-feel of your band.

Show Off Services (SOS). SOS are digital and physical

servicing etc). (www.showoffrecordings.com)

JB HI-FI (Track Chart) 1. Truly Madly Deeply (Cascada) 2. Suddenly I See (KT Tunstall) 3. Steer (Missy Higgins)

Coming in second was Norway and the US, according to

You can attach images to each blog entry and when people

figures from international music industry group IFPI.

comment on your blog you are instantly notified via email.

CD sales per person in 2006 Britain 2.7 US 2.1 Norway 2.1 Ireland 1.9 Australia 1.9

Word press is a great way to build a bands profile but most

iTunes (iTunes music store) Young and Restless - Kapow!

Triple J British India - Tie Up My Hands Sly Hats - Vampire Sips BigPond Music Missy Higgins - Steer (Live) MP3.com.au (www.mp3.com.au) Awkward Silence Faith In fear

of all, a great way to interact and gain contacts and industry knowledge

Mess + Noise Birtie Blackman - 3 Track EP (Streamed)

PS2 /W i i /PS P

Manhunt 2 Banned GAME NEWSW

By Chris Rattray

When a game is labelled “bleak” and “callous” by Britain’s BBFC and banned for sale in the United States, you just know that it has to be something special. Unfortunately, it seems gamers in Australia won’t get to experience the pleasure of Rockstar’s psychological thriller/horror, Manhunt 2. The original game was banned here as well, so it seems likely the same will happen to its sequel. Hell, even those funlovin’ leprechauns in Ireland have banned it!

Due for release in July, Manhunt 2 was to chronicle the comic misadventures of a couple of mental asylum escapees. Murder and mayhem were to feature heavily, just as in the original game. Rockstar has defended its game as a work of art that deserves to be experienced by adults who should be able to distinguish fantasy from reality. Unfortunately, an “Adults Only” rating, which is what the game has earned in the US, means it cannot be distributed on the target platforms; that is Sony and Nintendo’s consoles respectively, as their policy regarding games with such a rating are clear – they aren’t allowed, and they won’t stand for it.

days is thirty-three and male). The other side of the fence claims artistic freedoms have been compromised.

No matter what happens, it seems Manhunt 2 may never be released in its current form – which is a shame. However, the taboo this controversy has created about the game will only serve to strengthen its sales should it ever be released. After all, there’s nothing more enticing, and compelling, than being told “you can’t do that.” Because ultimately, the kind of thrill gamers seek from gaming comes from exactly that – being able to do what cannot be done in real life.

It’s a catch-22 situation for Rockstar. These guys love to push the boundaries of what can be experienced in a video game, as evidenced by their Grand Theft Auto series. However, this boundary pushing also pushes the buttons of the determined wowsers out there who are quick to malign video games for every sin under the sun.

This time it seems the wowsers have gotten their wish, and deprived every adult with critical faculties their chance to see what all the fuss was about. One side of the fence says that the game-rating systems are finally working to protect the kids (a strange argument given the average gamer these PAGE 27

JO S H UA L O WE

A Look Under The Masque We All Wear

STATE CINEMA Whats’s On

Creator of the dynamic – if rather ominously-named – Drill performance company, Joshua Lowe spoke to me about the first production this group will be putting on stage in August – Masque.

375 Elizabeth St, North Hobart www.statecinema.com.au 6234 6318

SPOTLIGHT

By Tom Wilson

You run Drill, a performance company. How did it begin? And what motivated you to do it?

Drill only began in January this year, and although was originally my idea, I had a lot of input and support from other people and artists. I suppose Drill is here to create more opportunities for young people to not only perform but to get their ideas out there – to create and be creative. I’d worked with some amazing people in previous shows and invited them to be a part of it all, and lots of paperwork, emails, workshops, auditions and only a few short months later, we have a production company getting ready to put on its first project. I think my motivation was my passion for dance and theatre, and I wanted something or somewhere for myself and others to get out there and express our ideas and show off some local talent.

How would you describe Masque to someone with very limited exposure to theatre productions?

Masque is a continuous flow of dance and song items, unified in a central idea. I always laugh when people ask how my “play” is going – Masque is not a play – it doesn’t have dialogue or scenes – but is entirely contemporary dance and song. Audiences can expect to experience emotionally intense and thought provoking ideas and concepts expressed through song and dance.

singing and dancing all intertwining and changing to explore the different facets of masks.

Singing is one element of this production. Would you go so far as to call this a musical?

Not really. There is not a single storyline throughout Masque like a musical has. The production is more like an amalgam of

After this production runs its course, what is Drill planning to do next?

Oh, everything! I hope to start on another project like Masque and then perhaps move into Summer projects. I also want to do a lot of street art and performances. We’ve got so many great ideas and I have no idea which ones will be coming up in the near future. Maybe all of them!

Your new production Masque explores an interesting concept – that everyone wears some sort of mask in their lives. What are some examples of the masks people wear? And why do you think we wear them?

It’s quite a funny concept because everyone wears a “mask”, and everyone knows everyone does it, yet we still do it. It’s the lies we tell to save face; it’s when we try to be someone we’re not; it’s when you’re feeling troubled but don’t let on to the outside world; it’s the labels we put on certain people and groups, and it’s getting lost within your own identity. We wear them because it’s easier to live that way; we don’t have to face up to things that can be awkward or emotionally revealing. We put it away in its designated box and cover it up.

If you could label Masque with some kind of genre or style, what would it be?

Hmm, I’m not sure! It’s that contemporary and arty style made popular by groups such as Cirque du Soleil. I want to create things that are visually stunning and artistically creative and original.

When and where?

Masque will be performed in the Earl Arts Centre over four performances from August 17th to 19th. Our next project will be starting in September to be performed in early 2008 – so look out for auditions when they’re coming up! And as I mentioned, I’m looking at doing some things out in the community, in the streets and other venues.

Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with the name “Drill”? Is there some specific meaning behind it?

A lot of people ask me that. There is no meaning behind it at all … and I can’t really remember how and when I came up with it. I think a friend mentioned something about a Chinese Fire Drill, and it was in the back of my head when I thought up the company name. I do like the whole industrial motif and it kind of fits with that – I think I just thought it was a pretty cool word.

Who is involved in Masque?

Masque is directed and choreographed by myself and Cindy Foster, vocally directed by Nathan Gilkes and includes a cast of twenty singers and dancers aged ten to twenty-five with varying ranges of training and experience. We even have cast members from Hobart! And then there’s our production team comprised of all young people who I believe have heaps of talent and expression to share.

Masque runs at Launceston’s Earl Arts Centre from the 17th of August to the 19th.

JA NE RUSS E LL

SPOTLIGHT

If Symptoms Persist, See This Play

By David Williams As an actor, playing one character well can be hard enough. Take that challenge and multiply it by nine, and you’ll understand the level of ambition that actress Jane Russell has directed at this – her fifty-minute one-woman show, The Pharmacist. She spoke to me about the play’s origins, its reflections of society’s belief in quick fixes to health, and why people can relate to pain.

Can you tell me a little bit about The Pharmacist? What’s a little bit of a synopsis of the production?

Well, it basically revolves around a week in the life of a pharmacist, and the people who come into her store – many varied characters, but they’re all united by pain. And pain can either be physical or mental … varied forms of pain, which is what is explored in the play, and how she helps them, and how she eventually copes with her own pain. It’s an eclectic mix; some characters are funny, some are sad. Yeah – it’s a mixed pot.

And you play all of them, is that right?

I play all of them, yes.

So how many characters altogether?

There’s nine in total, and that includes the pharmacist. So nine different characters.

And you wrote the play also, yeah?

I did, yes.

What inspired it?

Well, it came about in acting school. We had to write our own little solo show – it only had to be ten minutes or so. And that completely freaked me out, because I just didn’t consider myself a writer. I thought, “I hope I can act, but I don’t think I can write!” Our teacher just said “write about what you do everyday.” He asked me what I did, and I said I worked in a pharmacy. And he said, “Well, observe a character, and

THE SH A PE O F T H I N GS The Shape of Things is a challenging critique of modern society’s obsession with self-improvement. For Adam, slightly overweight and socially inept, membership in life’s “in-crowd” is only something to be experienced from the fringe. How far will Adam go for love and what price is he willing to pay?

The cast features some very experienced young actors: Brett Cousins – very well known for his regular role of Ben Atkins in Neighbours.

He has also appeared in Blue Heelers and Good Guys Bad Guys. Brett won a Best Actor Green Room Award winner in 2004.

Susan Godfrey – seen on television in Halifax FP, Stingers, McLeod’s Daughters, Blue Heelers and Last Man Standing.

Susan has been in numerous stage productions including another play be Neil LaBute, This is How it Goes, produced

by Red Stitch.

Kate Cole – has extensive stage experience and is a founding member of Red Stitch. TV credits include Stingers, Blue Heelers, Crash Burn and as ‘Go Go’ in Neighbours.

PAGE 28

come in and do that character for us.” I did exactly that, and from that one character I created a show. That was only for ten minutes or so for school, and our teacher, who had done his own show as part of the Melbourne Fringe, encouraged all of us to develop it further and do it at festival.

He said it was a wonderful way to perform and create your own work, so I picked up the ball and ran with it, and decided to write it longer and add more to it and all that sort of thing.

So I did it as part of Melbourne Fringe last year, and I’m heading off to the Edinburgh Festival in August, so it’s very exciting.

Would you say that everybody is in pain?

I think everybody can identify with pain, and has been in pain at some point in their life. And I think that’s what the audiences will identify with in the characters; either “I have felt that”, or “I have seen someone who is like that”.

can have a dark side. I was just wondering if you explore that as well in the production?

Yes – I don’t want to give too much away, but yes, that is certainly explored. And, I mean, pharmacists sometimes are viewed as almost doctors for people these days, because a lot of people are busy – they don’t want to see a doctor; they don’t want to take the time to go and see one.

So they come in, and they want answers, and they want the pharmacist to say, “Here, take this – you’ll feel better.” That’s what they want to hear a lot of the time, and that’s just not possible for a lot of things.

So there’s that stress that a pharmacist undergoes; trying to do their job and be professional.

And they can’t give you an answer for everything – certainly not. I think that’s the conflict point that a lot of pharmacists feel, and that’s the conflict of the show – there’s a lot of pressure.

Certainly that’s some of the feedback that I’ve got when I did it last time. The show has been developed further from when I did it last, so it is different, but fundamentally it’s the same, and the characters are the same too.

You can either go one way and lie, and say, “Take this – it’ll make you feel better. Yes, yes, sell, sell, sell” … or you can be honest and say, “There’s not much I can do.” So there’s that kind of moral dilemma as well.

You’re placing the pharmacist [in] almost a superherotype character, where they are able to fix other people. But pharmacists themselves experience pain, and having dealt with chemists and pharmacists in different capacities, I’ve also learned that pharmacists

The Pharmacist plays at the Backspace Theatre in Hobart from the 4th to the 7th of July.

To listen to the full interview, go to www.sauce.net.au

Daniel Frederiksen – this is Daniel’s sixth play with Red Stitch.

He appeared regularly in Stingers on TV and has recently finished working on a new Hollywood film Ghost Riders.

F E S T I VA L OF V OICES

This will be the first visit by Red Stitch Actors Theatre to Tassie and the Theatre Royal. Formed in 2002, Red Stitch is one of Melbourne’s leading independent theatre companies which repeatedly wins critical acclaim for its production of new, fresh and predominantly unseen work from overseas.

The Shape of Things is written by Neil LaBute.

Theatre from the 5th to the 8th of July.

It’s a sexy, funny play, and is an acutely well-observed exploration of desire and aspiration. “Neil LaBute is an original voice – the best playwright to emerge in the past decade – a genius” – The New Yorker.

This award winning writer will present you with a very clever ending to this play. It will be quite unexpected.

The Shape Of Things Theatre Royal, Hobart Monday 2nd July Tuesday 3rd July @ 8.00PM Tickets priced from $30 to $55 (concessions apply) www.theatreroyal.com.au or telephone 6233 2299

John Bolton presents Festival of Voices 2007 – Festival

Spend a week with John Bolton and the Festival World Music Choir and the Melbourne Italian Women’s Choir – La Voce Della Luna.

Experience being directed by exceptional theatre maker John Bolton as you explore and perform Boccaccio’s The Decameron.

This workshop will bring you into the heart of the Festival, and in touch with a masterful performance trainer.

For more information or to make a booking, please visit the festival web site, or send an email. www.festivalofvoices.net.au festivalofvoices@netspace.com.au

The Italian

Coming Soon RUSSIA 2007 M 99 minutes In Russia, every orphan longs for adoption. Vanya has other plans ... to find his mother at all costs.

In his feature directorial début, director Andrei Kravchuk addresses with intelligence and poignancy the urgent issue of illegal adoption in Russia, which has become a well-documented international crisis. The Italian (Italianetz) is based on the true story of a small Russian boy abandoned in an orphanage who goes in search of his birth mother. A childless, affluent couple from Italy comes to a provincial Russian children’s home to find a child for adoption. When the Italian couple singles out 6-year-old ragamuffin Vanya as their prospective choice, the other orphans give him a new nickname: The Italian. They envy Vanya, imagining that he is destined for a life of ease in sunny Italy. But plucky little Vanya has other plans.

The History Boys

Coming Soon UK 2006 M 112 minutes History ... it’s just one bloody thing after another.

Based on the highly acclaimed and successful play, and filmed with the original Broadway cast, The History Boys tells the story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master (Richard Griffiths), a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to sift through it all to pass the daunting university admissions process. Their journey becomes as much about how education works, as it is about where education leads.

My Best Friend

Now Showing France 2007 M 95 minutes (Mon meilleur ami) ... a lovable French comedy, mixing social commentary with black humour. Francois is an antiques dealer – a man completely immersed in his trade. At his birthday, his associate candidly informs him that he has no friends. The other guests agree!

Stunned by this revelation, Francois proposes a wager – he will produce his best friend in one week or give up his prized antique vase. When all seems lost, Francois finds an unlikely candidate in a lonely taxi driver, but before he can claim his prize, Francois will find out what friendship is truly all about.

Four Minutes

Coming Soon Germany 2006 minutes

M

112

Sixty years ago Traude Krüger began teaching music at a women’s prison.

Now, on her search for possible students, she meets Jenny: a violent young inmate convicted of murder, and also a brilliant pianist. When Kruger convinces prison authorities to let her train Jenny for a public competition at the Berlin Opera House the past resurfaces for both women and a lesson in humanity is learnt that they will each never forget.

Breach

Now Showing USA 2007 M 110 minutes Inspired by the true story of the greatest security breach in US history. When Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe), a young agent-in-training, is promoted out of his lowlevel surveillance job and into the headquarters of the FBI, his dream of becoming a fully-fledged agent is on the verge of becoming a reality. Even more impressive, O’Neill is selected to work for renowned operative Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) within a new division protecting all classified FBI intelligence. His enthusiasm, however, quickly turns to anxiety as O’Neill is confronted with the true reason behind his unexpected promotion.

Hanssen is the subject of a top-secret investigation; he is a suspected mole who has become extremely dangerous by the sheer global import of the information he is protecting. Now engaged in a lethal game of spy-versus-spy, O’Neill finds himself fighting to bring down Hanssen before the treacherous double agent can destroy him, his family and the nation they are both sworn to serve.

Street Fashion

CRYSTAL 20

CARLEY 26

EMMA 19

SARAH 20

Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: Snow White outfit.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: A gingham ra-ra dress.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: Bought a boob tube, but thought it was a skirt.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: Pajamas in public.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Tartan skirt.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Pink and purple parachute suit.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Matching family outfits.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: A dress – I don’t wear them.

Worst current fashion trend: Bubble skirt.

Worst current fashion trend: Boots with denim pinafores and aprons.

Worst current fashion trend: Leggings.

Worst current fashion trend: Boots over jeans.

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Bodice.

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Converses.

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Jeans with buttons.

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Multiple layers.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

Saturday night, camping.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

Never.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

Two nights ago.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

Last night.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Once.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Five.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Once.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Twice, with air-time.

Why does your bum look so big in those?

‘Cause I’ve got a fat arse!

Why does your bum look so big in those?

Alien gene-therapy.

Why does your bum look so big in those?

Spending too much time around skinny friends.

Why does your bum look so big in those?

Optical illusion.

SAM 27 Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: Clothes for SAUCE fashion shoot.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Blue woolen jumper.

JOHN 26 Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: Kimono

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Leather bondage suit.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

Last night.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Six. Why does your bum look so big in those?

‘Coz I’m a man!

PAGE 30

VICKTOR 36

Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: A tutu.

Stupidest thing you’ve ever worn: Bright red Explorers with shorts.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Massive pink t-shirt with palm tree on it.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Boxer shorts with “obey me” written on them.

Worst current fashion trend: Too-short pinafores.

Worst current fashion trend: Spray-on jeans.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

Three days ago.

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Button-up jeans.

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly?

Handcuffs.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them? Until smelly.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

A couple of weeks ago.

When was the last time you slept in your clothes?

A month ago.

Why does your bum look so big in those? Been enjoying fruits of modern western society too much.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Once.

What’s the most number of times that it’s OK to wear a pair of socks before washing them?

Twice.

Why does your bum look so big in those?

To make people ask me that question.

Why does your bum look so big in those?

Weather anomaly, with light reflecting off the clouds.

Worst piece of clothing you’ve ever been given: Fluoro green socks Worst current fashion trend: Big fashion glasses

Worst current fashion trend: Techno/emo/pop etc.

MEL 19

Worst thing to be wearing when you want to take all your clothes off quickly? Tight clothes.

1 9 1 C H A R L E S S T R E E T L AU N C E S TO N

WEB: www.saloon.com.au PH:

03 6331 7355 FAX: 03 6331 2414 EMAIL: hotel@saloon.com.au

FRIDAY 13TH JULY

M.S.I Zero Degrees Freedom Nosce Teipsum SATURDAY 21ST JULY

THE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS